Splat X 2
by Punished 'Dread' Angel
Summary: A race long forgotten rises from the sea, threatening to bring an end to all Inkling life. When a red haired boy named Leonidas appears, he may be the last hope when the world begins to crumble. (Reviews appreciated!)
1. Leonidas

A large machine connected to several energy outlets around the large room stood in the center, silent. Three Inklings observed it quietly.

"So this is it, huh?" One said, this one was a girl, she had torn black and pink tentacles, her clothes, a blood stained pink and black shirt and black shorts, were torn up.

"It is, Aunt Cal. With this, I can go back and stop the threat that weakened us." Another one spoke, he was a 15 year old boy, with red hair that covered his left eye, the revealed one was pointed and green. He wore a dirty navy blue hoodie with 'Destruction' written on it, his grey trousers were covered in holes.

"What if you find Fade at all?" The third one asked, a 14 year old girl, she had glittering silver hair and eyes the same as the red haired one. Her shirt was white, with black shorts.

"Then I will destroy him." The red haired one snarled, flicking a switch on a table, the device began to whir into life.

"Be careful, Leonidas." Cal crossed her arms "And...make sure nothing happens to your mother."

"Don't worry, I'll be safe. Jazz, you're in charge while I'm gone." Leonidas nodded as he entered the machine, it sparked for a while, then vanished into thin air, leaving only a brief outline of itself in blue electricity.

Cal sighed "She would have been proud."

"Yeah." Jazz said quietly "I'm going for a walk."

Jazz walked through the bunker, passing a few Inklings on her way, soon arriving at a door. She opened it and was greeted by the same wasteland she knew her whole life. As she closed the door behind her, she heard footsteps. Looking over a small hill in the distance, a battle scarred, blue haired male Inkling came over it, wearing a blue tattered scarf, a spiked leather jacket and simple black shorts. He was missing one eye.

*15 Years Ago*

Leonidas was first greeted by lush grasslands, then a quick and painful headache. He put his hand on his forehead and groaned.

"Oh, man..." He moaned, sitting back up, then soon exiting the machine "Good thing I'm in the middle of nowhere." He sighed. Then, he noticed someone watching him from the tree tops.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, Leonidas soon realised what he was.

Human.

He slowly walked closer, the human was wearing a high tech suit of armor, his head completely covered.

"Fade?" Leonidas growled.

The human was silent, only staring back at Leonidas.

"FAAAAAAAAAAADE!" Leonidas screamed, flying up at the human, they grabbed his fist and spun him round, throwing him into the sky. Leonidas corrected himself, hovering in the air, then charging again. He succesfully rammed into their chest, but was shocked by a quick jolt of electricity, stunning him.

"I don't know how you know who Fade is, but I'm not him." His foe said, delivering a chop to the back of Leonidas' head, knocking him out. He left, leaving Leonidas to fall to the floor.

*A few hours later*

Leonidas slowly woke up, his vision temporarily blurry, but it soon became clear. He was in someone's apartment, he could smell something new. He was layed on a sofa, a short square box was on a table in front of him. He sat up and looked closer, the box had the word 'Pizza' written on it.

 _"Pizza? What the hell is Pizza?"_ Leonidas thought, raising an eyebrow _"Whatever it is, it's probably food...somebody else's food."_ He huffed and sat back in the sofa. Soon, something else caught his attention, an Ink tank. As he stood up, the door to the room immediatly opened, a yellow haired male Inkling and a cyan haired female entered the room, the female had grey tips at the end of her tentacles, instead of the usual black.

"You took longer to wake up than usual." The yellow haired one said "You had a lot of fallout in your system. Care to explain?"

"You should know why, Ty." Leonidas folded his arms and frowned.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I know you. And I don't know anything about all the fallout in your system." Ty shook his head.

 _"Idiot!"_ Leonidas shouted in his head "Ok, forget what I said."

The cyan haired one walked up to Leonidas "Just tell us about the fallout."

Leonidas saw a clock in the corner of the room, it read 10:40.

"Crap, I gotta go!" He pushed past the cyan haired Inkling and Ty, running down the stairs and out of the building, shooting into the sky.

"Hey! Get back here!" The cyan girl shouted out of a window.

"Don't worry, Vybe. We'll probably see him again." Ty pulled Vybe back slightly.

*The Motorway*

Leonidas' eyes darted around, trying to find the green and pink truck. Eventually, he found it and moved into a position where he could view the side, which was a picture of the Squid Sisters.

"Bingo." He grinned, flying under it and opening a small hatch to the cargo hold, slowly squeezing in. Inside was a whole host of stage material, luggage and a few hundred miscellaneous objects.

In the main part of the trailer, it had plenty of space, a TV, freaking WiFi and two large sofas opposite each other. Ix was asleep on one of them, one arm hanging off the edge, he was making soft moaning noises.

Rem grinned lightly and checked her phone, the date was 18th July 20075...a whole year since that horrible day.

*Flashback*

"Mum! Please! Please don't die!" Rem shouted, tightly holding her dying parent's hand.

"I'm sorry, Rem. Take care of Ix. I..." The green haired Inkling evaporated before she could finish, a squid shaped ghost floating into the air.

"Maria..." Callie said quietly.

After that, Rem could feel nothing but rage.

*End of flashback*

Rem sighed and shook her head, looking to the sleeve of the hoodie she was wearing, the one her mother had gotten signed when she was younger, which she had passed onto her. She pushed the memories away and looked at her younger brother. He was dreaming about Marie, she could tell. She looked up to the two other squids at the other end of the trailer, who were just simply talking. Callie then got a text message, looked closely at it then walked over to Rem, showing her a picture of an Inkling boy with red hair, one tentacle covering his left eye, the revealed one being exactly like Rem and Ix's eyes.

"Ty sent me this. He looks an awful lot like you two." Callie said.

"You're right. I know for certain that me and Ix are the only people left in our family. Maybe it's just coincidence. Anything else about him?" Rem asked, scratching her chin.

"They didn't get a name, but they found him near the back of the park when taking their kids for a walk or something. They also said he had a lot of nuclear fallout in his system, which Ty disposed of when using his Beacon." Callie shrugged, turning the phone back to herself.

Leonidas was listening to the conversation from below, silent.

 _"When did they take my picture?"_ He thought, looking down to the floor.

The truck suddenly stopped, sending all the objects in the cargo hold towards Leonidas.

"Shi-!" He was crushed before he could finish.

"We're here already? That was fast." Marie looked up, turning to face the window, a large theme park was visible from the window.

"Alright!" Callie punched the air, grinning.

Leonidas changed into his squid mode and crept out through a grate, rubbing his head as he transformed back. He quickly ran off into the park, taking cover in the shadows. He watched as crews of Inklings took the stage material out of the cargo hold, while the other four left for a hotel, he quickly followed them.

"You two excited for your first live performance?" Callie grinned as she pressed the 23F button the the elevator's wall.

"Oh hell yeah!" Rem fist pumped, smirking "How about you, Ix?" She turned to face her brother, who had fallen back asleep.

"That's what he gets for staying up all night playing New Inkopolis." Marie giggled, supporting him as they arrived at their floor.

As Leonidas stared up at the building, somebody bumped into him. He turned his head to face who it was, a black haired male Inkling wearing an anchor shirt.

"Move it." He said.

Leonidas was silent, only glaring at him. The Inkling suddenly grabbed him by the front of his collar and hoisted him up "Then I'll move you myself."

Leonidas saw he had Volu written on his wrist "Hmph!" He kicked Volu in the chest with both his feet, breaking out of his grip and landing after a brief backflip. Volu immediatly charged at Leonidas, throwing a punch which Leonidas easily caught. He tightened his grip on it and Volu fell to his knees, growling.

"Uncle!" He shouted finally. Leonidas silently released him and walked down the street.


	2. Hi kid Bye squid

15:00 18th July 20075

Leonidas got back to the theme park, seeing the group of four going to the outdoor swimming pool. He hid in the shadows between some vending machines, arms crossed. His clothes were getting hot, but he had to stick with them, being the only set of clothing he currently had. Eventually, the heat got to him.

 _"Screw this, I'm going to Jelly Fresh."_ He thought, blasting off into the sky.

Callie, who was now relaxing in a long deck chair by the poolside, saw the streak of white left behind Leonidas as he flew away _"That plane's flying low."_ She shrugged, putting her sunglasses back on "Hey, Ix?"

"Yeah?" Ix looked up from his GameSquid.

"Why do you wear those long swimming trunks?" Callie turned her head to face him.

Ix looked down to his trunks, they had a lily pattern, extended down to his ankles "Oh, these? Ah, they're custom made. I got 'em a few months before we met you, I got sunburn the week before. The stinging didn't go away for a whole week..." He winced at the memories.

"Ouch." Callie turned her head back to looking back up at the sky.

"By the way, where did the other two go?" Ix asked. Just as he said that, Marie rose up from the swimming pool, flicking one of her tentacles. Everything seemed to go in slow-motion for Ix as Marie walked towards them.

"Have your eyes frozen, Ix?" Marie grinned, crossing her arms.

Ix was shook his head quickly "What? Um, no. No they aren't. It's just...you look..." He trailed off towards the end of his sentence.

*Inkopolis*

"I'm in Inkopolis now!" Leonidas grinned, arms crossed as he slid into the plaza.

"We all are." A green haired Inkling rolled his eyes.

"Hi kid." Leonidas smirked, hitting the Inkling in a spot that forced him to go to his squid form, then kicking him into the distance "Bye squid."

Leonidas ran over to Jelly Fresh, then slammed into the glass doors "What the!? These things are supposed to be automatic!" He then saw a sign saying 'Booyah Base closed for renovation' "Fuck!" He shouted, blasting back into the air.

*Inkerton*

"So, your name's Treble?" Rem was talking to a pink haired Inkling about her age and height with fairly tanned skin, both sitting in the shallowest part of the pool.

"Yeah. Honestly, I can't believe I'm talking to THE Rem Altazio." Treble grinned, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, come on, Ix and I's first performance isn't until tomorrow night." Rem giggled nervously, looking back, then standding back up "If ya want to meet my brother, I can introduce ya."

"Ix is here? Awesome!" Treble quickly stood up, grinning.

Leonidas had returned to Inkerton and was continuing to watch the group from the shadows _"There he is."_ He grinned lightly as he saw Treble _"But that means..."_ His frown returned as he looked in the direction of the sea. Something then burst out of it, slamming into a place of the park close to the pool. It was an odd walker mech covered in sea weed and moss. The shockwave it created knocked several Inklings over, including Rem and Treble.

Rem opened her eyes, Treble was lying on top of her "Eek!" She screamed. Treble blushed and immediatly stood back up.

"S-Sorry!" He shook.

"I-It's ok." Rem said quietly, making sure her bikini hadn't been loosened.

"What was that, though?" Treble looked over to where the loud boom had come from, seeing the mech "Oh..."

"Rem!" Ix shouted, throwing a shirt on "Get over here!"

"O-Ok! Um, Treble, you get to safety. We can handle this..." Rem weakly pointed to the exit, looking down.

"Alright. Oh, and just in case, what's your number?" Treble grinned nervously. Rem whispered in his ear, then pushed him slightly "Alright. Good luck." He ran off, quickly gathering his things.

The walker was a dark green colour with the occasional yellow or red highlights. There was a faded G on one leg and a faded F- on the other. There were two large boxes resting on its 'shoulders'

"Big Foot..." Leonidas snarled. He left the shadows and started walking towards it. Rem put her hand out, blocking him.

"Get outta here, kid." She said, not flicking her head to the exit.

"Urgh." Leonidas groaned and returned to the shadows.

"Eyaaah!" Ix shouted as he charged at the walker. The gun under the cockpit whirred, soon shooting out a rapid stream of black ink, which Ix expertly dodged until one hit him in the face, more shots hit him, quickly taking him out.

"Ix!" Marie gasped, picking him up.

Callie charged at the mech, the box on its shoulders opened up and shot ink filled missiles at her, Callie caught one and threw it straight back at the mech, destroying its left leg.

"Alright Callie!" Rem fist pumped "That was easier then I expected." She grinned. The walker suddenly shot a tether from above the gatling gun, wrapping itself around the four.

"What!?" Callie gasped, trying to break free.

 _"Oh my god this is awkward."_ Rem thought only split seconds before an electric jolt was sent through the tether, shocking the three. They fell down to the floor, unconciosus.

"This is Alpha Y, I have captured the four." The one operating the walker spoke into a radio, putting the group in a box.

"Good work, Alpha. Bring 'em here." The radio spoke. The machine crackled with electricity, then vanished.

"Ah, shit!" Leonidas ran out from the shadows, clenching his fist. He sighed and flew back to Inkopolis "Looks like I will need their help."

*Inkopolis, Colorian Labs, 12 Minutes later*

"There's someone waiting in reception." Vybe said as a light flickered on the wall.

"Better not be an assassin." Ty groaned as he stood up, heading towards the reception. He was taken aback slightly as he saw Leonidas standing there "You again?"

"I need your help." Leonidas said firmly, unfolding his arms and letting his clenched fists fall to his side.

Ty was quiet for a few seconds "How do I know I can trust you?"

"If I were someone else, I would've charged in here, splatted everyone in the building and built what I need myself. But I'm not that kind of person." Leonidas huffed.

"Fine. By the way, you look tense, need a massage?" Ty tilted his head.

Leonidas stepped back slightly "I only let my mother and father touch me."

"Alright, I understand. I just need your name and age." Ty took out a pen and paper.

"Leonidas Ezair. 15."

"You're only 15? Jeez, you seem so much older." Ty looked up, giving him a questioning look.

"I know."

"So...what do you need, exactly?" Ty asked.

"A submarine." Leonidas nodded.

"A submarine!?" Vybe, who had been listening in on the conversation, gasped.

"Listen, a new evil took my mo- I mean Rem, Ix, Callie and Marie to their underwater base. I need to get there to save them." Leonidas stated, cracking his knuckles.

 _"Wow, someone caught those four? I didn't think that was possible. But..."_ Ty gave Leonidas a very serious look "How do you know all this?"

Leonidas sighed. He hoped he would never have to say anything about this to anyone except the other four. He looked up for a few seconds and took a deep breath "I'm from the future."

"Oh come on, you're messing with us!" Vybe chuckled.

Leonidas dropped a damaged, scratched and rusty pistol on the table "You know who this belongs to."

Ty slowly picked up the gun "Derik's M9..." He mumbled, inspecting the gun. He put it down and Leonidas returned it to his bag "Alright, I trust you."

"How long should the submarine take?" Leonidas crossed his arms.

"I don't know. If we work as fast as we can, it should take about three or four days minimum." Ty shrugged.

*Two days later*

Rem slowly opened her eyes, she was lying down in a forest, staring up at a glass ceiling, her normal set of clothes were back on. Callie was sitting in a self made hammock nearby, the other two were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are we? What happened!?" Rem gasped as she sprung up, Callie looked to her then down at the floor and sighed.

"We've been captured, Rem."

"Captured? By who!?" Rem clenched her fist.

"The Sea Lions. They're an ancient race that hid under the seas for thousands of year. They're immune to our ink and possess deadly ancient weaponry." A tear fell from Callie's eye "W-W-We're all going t-to die, Rem."

Rem sighed and hugged Callie "Not while me and Ix are on this planet." She smiled, releasing her "Speaking of Ix, where are the other two?"

"...They went to get supplies. You ever read the Hunger Games?" Callie looked up.

"Oh, the book that ancients wrote? Yeah, I've read it." Rem nodded.

"It's like that." Callie said.

"Damn." Rem looked around "It's getting dark."

"Yeah, the arena's set up to replicate the day night cycle above the sea."

Rem gasped "We're under the sea!?"

Callie nodded "We may have to wait until tomorrow to see the other two again."

Rem sighed, looking down to the floor "I hope Ix is alright."

*A while away across the arena*

Ix yawned, stretching his arms "Man, I'm tired."

Marie also yawned "You're right." She looked around for a place to sleep, eventually finding a soft spot under some trees "Here." She said, lying down.

Ix hid the supplies in the shadows near their sleeping spot. He lay down next to Marie, giving her space. He looked up at the glass roof, sighing. He only then realised how much he missed the stars. He tried imagining them, but to no success. He looked down, seeing Marie's arm across his chest. He looked over and saw she had snuggled up to his side.

"Imagining the stars?" She said softly, not opening her eyes.

"Trying to..." Ix quietly replied.

Marie smiled as she drifted off to sleep. Ix was quiet as he was hit by some weird new feeling. He'd only felt something like it when they first found out about his crush on Marie. He soon realised what this meant.

He was in love.


	3. Darkness

"Alert! Alert! Security Breach! Security Breach! This is not a drill!" An alarm sounded early in the morning, waking everyone up. Leonidas sprung off the chair he was sleeping in.

"Security breach!?" He growled, running to the hangar, punching the door open. Inside was a flying version of the cockpit of Bigfoot, eleven different jet engines replacing the legs _"R-1/A Flying Dog!? B-But that was never activated!"_ He gasped, clenching his fists. Flying Dog quickly noticed Leonidas and opened fire, Leonidas jumped out of the way, taking cover behind some containers.

"What's going on here!?" Ty shouted as he burst into the room, holding an N-Zap. Flying Dog locked onto Ty, a red reticle surrounding him. White energy began gathering at a cannon on the front. Flying Dog fired it, sending it speeding towards Ty "Hm." Ty frowned as he back handed it away, accidentaly sending the ball of energy into the almost completed submarine, destroying it "Damnit!" He shouted.

"You idiot, Ty!" Leonidas yelled.

Vybe ran into the hangar, holding three baby squids in a container filled with ink, two cyan and one yellow "What was that explosion?"

"And now the woman's here!" Leonidas groaned, rolling his eyes, ink from Flying Dog came flying over head. He smashed open one of the small crates nearby, containing a few weapons. He pulled out a Splatling, grinning.

"Why did you bring the kids!?" Ty gasped, pointing to the container.

"Hm? Oh...I didn't even realise I was carrying them." Vybe smiled nervously. Ty facepalmed, quickly taking a few shots at Flying Dog.

"I got an idea!" Leonidas shouted "If we can cover the glass" Leonidas pointed to the glass on the cockpit "I can smash it and kill what's piloting that thing!" He ducked back behind cover as Flying Dog fired at him.

"How do you know that? Have you even fought this before!?" Ty yelled, throwing a burst bomb.

"No!"

"Oh you gotta be freaking kidding me." Ty groaned, dropping his gun and wiping his hand down his face.

"I'm still here, you know?" Vybe said, crouching behind a container.

"Then get outta here!" Ty shouted.

"Not before I do this!" Vybe sprung out from behind the container, shooting a bolt of electricity at Flying Dog.

Leonidas revved up the Splatling "Oh. Yeah." He grinned, unleashing a mad barrage at the shaking mech, covering the glass of the cockpit. He dropped the Splatling, ran forward and jumped onto Flying Dog, smashing his fist through the cockpit and ripping the throat out of what was inside. The mech flew forward and crashed, skidding along the floor, barely stopping short of some barrels. Ty breathed a sigh of relief as Leonidas jumped off of Flying Dog, then tearing the glass off. Inside was a fat, shiny creature with whiskers, a hole in its neck. It was wearing a visor and some sort of armor.

"Sea Lion." Leonidas huffed, throwing it out of the cockpit.

"Sea Lion?" Vybe asked, picking up the container "Ring any bells, Ty?"

"No, and OH MY GOD THE HANGAR'S A WRECK!" Ty gasped, realising the damage. He ran up to something covered by a blanket, pulling the sheet off. Undearneath was a Vought F4U Corsair "Oh thank god it's okay."

Leonidas heard someone talking, he whipped around and saw a yellow tentacle disappear through the door "Hmm..." He shrugged, turning back to Flying Dog _"If I'm correct, they water-proofed these things. Hang on, that means.."_ He was struck by realisation "Can you two get this thing a new cockpit glass?"

"Sure. That shouldn't take too long." Vybe smiled as she watched Ty fretting over the plane.

"Good."

*The Arena*

Marie stumbled as she walked, nearly hitting a tree. Ix caught her before she did.

"You alright?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, just a bit dizzy." Marie stood straight, shaking her head.

"Hey! There ya are!" Callie called, waving from a clearing.

"Sorry we took so long!" Ix grinned, running to the clearing, Marie slowly following. Ix dropped the supplies near a make shift tent, then noticed Rem was awake "Rem!" He ran up to her, hugging her. Rem smiled and returned the hug.

"They're so cute." Callie smiled lightly, crossing her arms.

Marie nodded, a blank expression on her face. A sudden rustle in the leaves caught her attention. She quickly turned to face the origin of the noise and saw two eyes staring straight at her. She grabbed a sharp stick and held it like a spear. A Sea Lion burst from the shadows, going for a swipe with a claw weapon. Marie dodged it, but Callie ended up with a large scar on her cheek.

"Bitch! Galink Gun..." Callie put her hands up as if holding a ball with both hands near her shoulder "Fire!" She launched a large beam of pink energy towards the Sea Lion, vaporising it. The other three were silent as Callie rubbed her cheek.

"Jesus..." Ix said quietly.

"Where were we?" Callie faced them with her usual smile, dusting off her gloves.

"Since when could you naturally use the Galink Gun?" Rem asked, stepping forward.

"Training!" Callie grinned.

"More importantly, what the hell just attacked us?" Marie asked, looking to the spot where the creature was obliterated.

"Sea Lion. It should be obvious, Marie." Callie tutted, rolling her eyes.

"Fill me in here, what are the Sea Lions?" Ix put his fists on his hips, eyebrows raised.

"The Sea Lions are an ancient race, going back to the earliest era in history. They were incredibly advanced, able to build vechiles and homes even with their lack of technology. Soon, they went deep into the Ocean, seemingly never to be heard from again. Looks like they were wrong." Callie shook her head, frowning.

The group was silent for a few seconds until Rem turned around "I'm going for a walk." She said as she left.

"You sure it's good to let her go on her own?" Ix blinked.

"She can handle herself, I'm sure she'll be fine." Callie casually shrugged, eyes half closed.

Rem looked to the floor as she walked along, deep in thought _"If they've got something bad in store, then I'm really gonna need to get stronger. I need to protect everyone."_ She scowled as she tightened the her fist.

"I can help with that..." A voice echoed.

"Huh? Who's there!?" Rem growled, lighting up her hands. The area around her was surrounded by darkness. Not even a blast of solar energy could light it "Ok, what's going on!?"

"You want to protect them, right?" The voice said again, the darkness getting closer. Rem nodded, the darkness began creeping towards her faster. Rem was silent, keeping her suspicions "This may sound crazy to you, but touch the darkness...it will help."

Rem snuffed out the flames, walking to the darkness. She stopped just before her nose touched it, staring into the nothingness.

"A little more..." A large Sea Lion who was watching from the top of the arena grinned maliciously, cameras focused on Rem staring at nothing "Foolish Inklings. How fun that one of your own will be your undoing!" He laughed as Rem touched the darkness.

The sound of screaming echoed through the trees, the three back in the clearing soon heard it.

"That's Rem!" Callie gasped, springing up and running to where Rem's screaming was coming from. She was clutching her head with both hands, writhing around on the floor.

"Rem! What's wrong!?" Callie knelt down to help her, but she was just kicked away.

"Darkness...!" Rem managed to get out between screams.

"23...24...25..." Marie quietly counted.

"It's the middle of the day!" Callie shook Rem, suddenly getting blown back by some unknown force.

"Callie!" Marie shouted as Callie skidded along the floor, her clothes getting covered in mud.

"I'm okay!" Callie quickly stood back up, flicking some mud off her face.

Rem slowly stood up herself, her eyes had strange black scars under her eyes, an oddly drawn M imprinted on her forehead.

*Mech Hangar*

Flying Dog slowly entered the Hangar, setting itself down on a podium.

"Alpha V, you are permitted to exit." A Sea Lion spoke.

Flying Dog's hatched slowly opened, a shadow then quickly burst out of the cockpit, slaughtering everyone in the hangar, quickly setting off an alarm. Leonidas stopped as he crushed the last one's skull.

"Looks like this won't be as easy as I thought." He scoffed as several hundred Sea Lions flooded into the room, aiming their guns at him.

"Ready, men? Fire!"

*The Arena*

"You ok, Rem?" Callie slowly made her way to Rem, who was staring her down "Can you see me? It's me, Callie."

Rem suddenly threw her fist straight into Callie's face, making the ground shake. Callie stumbled back, holding her face. She lowered her hand, showing a large bruise on her face.

"What was that for!?" She shouted angrily, the red veins in her eyes visible. Rem was silent, flying towards Callie and going for a kick. Callie quickly caught it, swinging Rem around and throwing her into a tree "Answer me, Rem!"

Rem stood up again, baring her teeth.

"Fine. Then I'll MAKE you talk!" Callie's hair sparked, turning a reflective pink.


	4. A Demon

"What happened to Callie's hair?" Ix scratched his head as Rem and Callie launched themselves at each other.

"The power-up is known as the 'Ubercharge' It's a state that renders almost complete invincinility. Callie absorbed a bunch of 'Uber radiation' when she was fifteen. The charge is what caused her skin to change when she fought Octavio a year ago. She's been training ever since Octron's defeat and managed to master it. Now she can activate it at will and it only affects her hair instead of her whole body." Marie explained as the two exchanged blows, the fight quickly taking to the air.

"Solar Shot!" Rem shouted, firing a quick wave of energy at Callie.

"Galink Gun..Fire!" Callie launched her own attack, the two beams collided in the air, sparks flying off the point where they met. Rem overpowered Callie, her attack sent her spiralling away. She quickly stopped herself and flew back towards Rem "Talk to me, damnit!"

Rem put one hand in front of her face, catching Callie's punch, twisting her arm into a painful position. Callie recoiled immediatly, holding her arm. She scowled and charged at Rem.

"Stop fighting, Callie." Rem frowned as she vanished just before Callie hit her, quickly reappearing behind her and kicked her downwards "I'll obliterate you!" An energy sphere appeared in both her hands, she put them together and fired the orb towards the dust cloud.

*The Mech Hangar*

Leonidas grinned as bullets whizzed by his face, some nearly hitting his ear. He took out the M9 and fired a few quick shots, killing some enemies.

"Ach, I need to work on my aim." He ducked behind cover as more Sea Lions entered, shooting at his cover "I guess I've got one option if I want to get out of here alive." He jumped out, putting his fists in an X shape in front of his face. He threw them to his sides, his hair turning pure gold. Golden light flashed off him in a strobe pattern. The Sea Lions stopped shooting as Leonidas lowered his head slightly, smirking "Call me Super Leonidas!" He looked down the sight of the M9, shooting at incredible speeds, then reloading before the previous clip hit the floor. As the last soldier fell, Leonidas grinned, spinning the gun on his finger "Didja SEA those coming?" He laughed as his hair returned to its normal red, then blew the smoke off the gun. The Hangar was suddenly shook by an explosion, he threw the gun into his bag, running to the main arena. Near the center was smoke rising up into the air.

Rem grinned as the dust settled, a large crater was visible behind her hand. She lowered it, smirking. Callie's body was nowhere to be seen. Rem laughed madly, then turned to Ix and Marie. Callie suddenly appeared behind her, slamming her fist into the top of her head. Rem crashed into the crater, sending up more dust. Callie hovered down to the floor, her hair returning to its normal state. As she walked to the edge of the crater, she was punched hard in the back. She felt herself slowly losing consciousness, turning her head to what had punched her. Rem's fist was firmly pressed against her back, she was glaring into Callie's eyes.

"Fuck...you..." Callie wheezed as she fell over, defeated.

Rem smirked, facing Ix and Marie "Who wants to die now?"

"What's gotten into you, Rem!? Why are you attacking us!?" Marie shouted, throwing her arm to the side.

"...The Rem you knew is gone. Forever. I'm a new Rem, a fresher one, as you say, so call me..." Rem smiled, bringing her fist in front of her face "Majin Rem." She opened her fist, her smile turning to a large grin, her fangs had doubled in number, all of them were on her top row of teeth.

"Gwaaaah!" Marie screamed, charging at Rem.

*Inkopolis*

"Ah!" A young light blue haired boy Inkling jolted awake, jumping slightly.

"You ok, Inkler? You kinda drifted off for a minute there." An older Inkling with green hair blinked, tilting his head slightly.

"Did I? Oh. Where are we, anyway, Inkward?" Inkler rubbed one of his eyes.

"We're going to see Revival Octo today, remember?" A female Inkling with lilac hair, about the same size as the Inkward, pointed to the large building behind her, the Inkopolis Cinema.

"Hmm...Oh yeah! We are! Now I'm exicted!" Inkler grinned, punching the air above him "How much longer, Inkala?"

"We still haven't even got the tickets. Come on, let's go get 'em." Inkala smiled, holding Inkler's wrist and running into the cinema.

"Say, we haven't heard from Rem and Ix in a while. Do you think something's happened?" Inkward questioned as they entered the building.

"Tsh, it's only been three days, Inkward. Besides, they're on holiday right now." Inkala grinned as they got to the back of a long queue.

"Hey, I don't read those weird magazines, so I wouldn't know, now would I?" Inkward rolled his eyes.

"Hello, young squids!" An Inkling in a blue and yellow suit walked up to them, his helmet covered up the majorty of his face "Have you heard about what has happened to the four squids you call the 'X Splatters'?"

"Oh, hey Inkman." Inkala nodded, waving lightly.

"What happened to them!?" Inkler gasped, holding his fists close together.

"Calm down, young squid. Now, they have supposedly been kidnapped and I, the Great Inkman! Have taken it on myself to find them. Do you three exactly have any knowledge of their whereabouts?" The Inkman put his hands on his hips, his cape blowing gently in the wind.

"Can't say we do. Sorry." Inkward shrugged.

"Do not worry, young squids. Inkman! Away!" Inkman shouted, running off into the streets.

"I can never understand that guy." Inkler tutted, shaking his head.

Inkala's phone then started ringing. She quickly took it out and answered "Hello?"

"Yeah, hi! I need you to get Inkler to the plaza within three hours! Can you do that?" Leonidas shouted, the fight between Marie and Rem was tearing the underwater complex apart.

"What? Who is this? Why should I listen to you?" Inkala huffed.

"Listen, if you don't get him there, people are going to die! Lots of people!" Leonidas yelled, ducking as a tree flew at him.

"What!?" Inkala gasped, hand over her mouth "How long is Revival Octo?"

"Two hours. Why?" Inkward shrugged lightly.

"We can make that. Hey, you still there?" Inkala put her phone back to her ear.

"Yeah! Can you do it?" Leonidas started running for the mech hangar.

*A large dome on the opposite end of the complex*

"Sir, the intruder has been sighted. He's heading back to the mech hangar." A Sea Lion pointed to Leonidas on a screen.

"Send in the B-3x. And make sure those four don't make it out alive." The larger Sea Lion motioned to the X Splatters.

"But sir, Majin Rem is a valuable asset. If we killed her, then we might be defeated." The smaller Sea Lion explained.

"Now that you mention it...Fine, get her out. Ensure the demise of the other three."

*The arena*

"Take this!" Marie yelled, throwing her fist towards Majin Rem. It hit her square in the face. She stumbled back, wiping the blood away from her mouth. Majin Rem quickly returned it with a kick to Marie's neck, knocking her away. She grabbed a pole that had planted itself in the ground, spinning around it and shooting towards Rem. Her feet collided with the side of Majin Rem's head, blasting her into the wall.

Marie slid along the floor for a few seconds, grinning. She stopped and stood back up "Now give back Rem!"

Callie moaned as she came to "Are we dead?"

"No. But if that Majin Rem bitch is still alive, we will be." Ix frowned.

 _"Majin Rem? Oh, no, this is bad! This is really, really bad!"_ Callie gasped, shaking.

Majin Rem blasted away from the wall, delivering a heavy punch to Marie's stomach. Before she could register what was happening, Marie unleashed hell, her arms moving so fast they started to blur. With a final roar, Marie slammed the orange haired girl's face into the ground, putting her foot down on her head "Give. Rem. Back." She spat.

Majin Rem immediatly grabbed Marie and threw her over to a pile of rubble "No. She's mine."

"Rgh!" Marie grunted, blasting towards Majin Rem "No she-" Before she could finish, Majin Rem's leg hit her elbow, her arm bending in a way it never should.

Marie's arm fell, completely limp. She walked a few paces, then got down on her knees.

"FFFFUUUUUUUUUU!"

*Ty and Vybe's apartment*

Ty's ear twitched slightly. He looked up from his laptop, his eyes darting around the room "Vybe, do you hear that screaming?"

Vybe didn't turn away from the baby squids she was feeding "I can hear something..." She shrugged.

*The Cinema*

"I don't know who's screaming, but they better shut up soon." Inkward groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Sh!" Inkler hissed "It's getting good!"

*The Top of Inkopolis Tower*

Phantom silently watched the city from his vantage point. Then soon he heard the screaming "Is that Marie?" He looked into the distance "No, I must be imagining things."

*Somewhere in Octo Valley*

An Octoling named Bic watched the giant crater known as Octo Valley silently, or at least what was left of it. Everywhere she looked, there was destruction. From the remains of Octron's base to domes forced out of the ground, it was just destruction. She soon picked up the screaming herself, looking to the sky.

"What the devil is that noise?" She wondered out loud.

*The underwater complex*

Marie finally stopped screaming, then fell down, exhausted.

Majin Rem smirked, now facing Ix "You're next."

Ix stepped back, shaking. The picture of Majin Rem breaking Marie's arm like that kept playing in his head.

 _"She hurt her...SHE HURT HER!"_ He screamed in his mind.

Purple flames surrounded Ix, he glared at Rem with death in his eyes. He yelled as his hair turned purple, another crater forming around him as the purple flames enguled him. They eventually faded, now coming out of the sides of his mouth. His eyes had gone from green to red.

"That's enough, Rem! NOW I'M MAAAAAAD!" He roared, the flames wrapping around him like a whirlwind.

 **He's pissed! He's really pissed! Yeah, crap ton of characters from other fics in this chapter! And yes Dark, Hot Shot is here. Anyway, I'm doing somethig new! It is *Drumroll* A question corner! Yes, it sounds stupid, but Kazue Kato does it with Blue Exorcist, so I can do it, too! Also, the characters you can ask question varies by chapter, so here's the current list...**

 **Majin Rem**  
 **Ix**  
 **Callie**  
 **Marie**  
 **Treble**  
 **Octron (For teh luls)**  
 **Leonidas**

 **So that's just about it for now. Also, sorry this is incredibly late. Blame the fact that I had to go on holiday AGAIN! And I missed almost the entire Xenoverse World Tournament... *Grumble* But on the BRIGHT side, Resurrection F is being released in UK Cinemas! *Grabs Hype Train Tickets* (It's on 30th September, though...I hate September.)**

 **Dread out! Don't worry, I'll make up for this. I promise!**


	5. Shadows keep attacking

Leonidas skidded to a halt when he heard Ix's screaming. He snapped to face the arena, where he could see the raging flames _"I dreaded this moment. The darkness in him's taken control. He's become Shadow Ix..."_ He gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on the rail. He remembered what he had to do, continuing his sprint to the hangar.

Ix flew at Majin Rem, slamming his fist into her face. She crashed into a tree, causing a chain reaction of collapses. Majin Rem grabbed a tree and threw it at Ix, he flew right through it, splitting it in half. He grabbed the top half of the tree, slamming it into the top of Majin Rem's head. She crashed into the ground, immediatly flying back up with her first chance. She kicked straight in his face, sending him spiralling towards the edge of the arena. He corrected himself seconds before impact, springing off the edge and shooting back towards Majin Rem, headbutting her.

Ix put his hands in front of him, gathering dark energy in his palms "Shadow Flare!" He yelled as he launched a large beam of the dark energy at Majin Rem. It hit her square on, covering her in burn marks and bruises. She wasn't done yet, though.

Immediatly, Majin Rem held her hands above her head, a large sphere of fire forming above her. She threw it at Ix, he managed to catch it, slowly pushing it away from himself. He threw it back towards Majin Rem, she sneered as it hurtled towards her. She put out her organic arm, catching the sphere herself and absorbing it. The flames around her turned to an inferno as she released the energy in a huge explosion.

Leonidas lept into the Mech Hangar as the explosion destroyed most of the dome. An alarm began to wail, the entire complex flashing red "Alert! Alert! Core System compromised! Evacuate within five minutes!"

"Fuck!" Leonidas slammed his fist onto the floor, looking around the hangar. Flying Dog was where he left it "Oh thank god." He let out a sigh of relief, running towards it. Before he was even half way, another walker fell from the ceiling. It was almost identical to Bigfoot, but had the same particle cannon Flying Dog had "Hey, Hot Shot! About time you showed up!" Leonidas smirked.

"This is Beta Q to Headquarters, I have intercepted Inkling L-15. Awaiting permission to kill." The pilot spoke into his radio.

The radio briefly cracked with static "Permission granted."

 _"So this isn't their headquarters? Thanks for the info, chubs."_ Leonidas smiled "Ok, bring it on!"

Hot Shot immediatly lept into the air, a reticle appeared around Leonidas, who jumped out of the way mere seconds before the walker landed. He pulled out the pistol and fired, only having two shots before having to reload. The empty clip hit the floor with a clink, quickly followed by gun shots. The gatling gun on Hot Shot revved up, unleashing a mad barrage of high pressure ink at Leonidas. One hit his ear, sending an incredible jolt of pain through him.

"Oogh! Now that stings!" He crouched on one knee, holding his ear. Hot Shot started charging its particle cannon, launching the white sphere at the Inkling. He quickly shot up and grabbed it, throwing it around his body. He lept into the air, holding the ball in one hand. He slam dunked the energy sphere into the cockpit, shattering it and causing the walker to start smoking. An electric board appeared in the wall reading 'HOME 0 AWAY 5'

"Alert! Alert! Shields failing! Two minutes until destruction!" The alarm sounded again.

Ix and Majin Rem were still fighting, ignoring the wailing alarms and flashing lights.

"Eyaaa!" Ix screamed as he blasted towards Majin Rem, she put her hands out to catch him, the two grabbed each other's shoulders, the ground behind them getting ripped apart. The two vanished, appearing again in the air, throwing kicks and punches at each other at blistering speeds. Ix kicked Majin Rem in the side of her head, she grabbed his arm and spun him around, throwing him into the wall.

"S-Stop...Agk..." Callie groaned. She tried to stand up, but couldn't get the strength to even move.

Ix darted back towards Majin Rem, grabbing her mouth "Take this!" He shouted, blasting a large pillar of purple flames from his palm, blasting Majin Rem away and into the glass ceiling, cracking it.

Leonidas heard the cracking and gapsed "No, no, no!" He yelled, grabbing Hot Shot's leg, ripping it off and running to Flying Dog. He started it up and flew into the arena, shooting the tether at Ix, shocking him. Leonidas jabbed a button, sending out a box and using a claw to put Ix and the two girls inside.

Majin Rem snarled as she saw Flying Dog, then vanished seconds before the glass roof gave way, letting the ocean water come crashing down.

Leonidas tightened his grip on the steering handles, bracing himself for the impact. The complex ripped itself apart as it was filled with water, exploding as it reached its limit.

Leonidas opened his eyes, the box was floating in front of him, the one way glass allowed him to see the three were safe, injured, but safe. He sighed and leaned back in the chair "Holy crap that was close." He chuckled "I should probably get them to Ty."

*Inkopolis Plaza*

"How much longer?" Inkler whined, sitting across a bench.

"Not much longer, squirt. Thirty minutes." Inkala sighed, putting her phone in her pocket.

Inkler huffed, folding his arms and staring up at the clouds "Why did you even go along with what that guy said?"

"He said people will die, squirt. Do you want that to happen?" Inkala put her hand son her hips, half closing her eyes.

"No." Inkler shook his head.

"Of course. Now be patient."

*Ty and Vybe's apartment*

"Ty, could you get that?" Vybe looked over to her husband, who nodded and went to answer the door, Leonidas was standing outside, holding the three Inklings.

"Heal these lot, I gotta go to the plaza." He dumped them on the floor, then ran off down the hall, jumping out of a window.

"Who was it?" Vybe called.

"Leonidas. Again! He just dropped Ix and the Squid Sisters here, told me to heal them, then ran off!" Ty shouted back.

 _"I can never get that kid."_ Vybe blinked.

*Inkopolis Plaza*

Leonidas ran into the plaza, quickly looking around for Inkler "There!" He grinned, seeing the kid lying across a bench. Inkala was looking around while Inkward was sitting on another bench close by, asleep. He ran over to Inkala "Hey!"

"Huh?" Inkala looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

Leonidas stopped in front of the bench "I'm the guy who called you. My name's Leonidas." He shook Inkala's hand.

"Um..." Inkala stared at Leonidas.

"Inkler, right?" Leonidas spun to face Inkler.

"Yeah." Inkler nodded.

"Good, good." Leonidas nodded, turning back around, he saw the being he had fought when he first arrived at the other end of the plaza, atop a building.

"Oh hey, that's Phantom." Inkala smiled, waving to Phantom.

 _"Phantom?"_ Leonidas thought, clenching his fists.

Phantom nodded silently, then dissapeared into thin air. A dot soon appeared in the sky where he once stood, slowly getting bigger.

 _"Here she comes..."_ Leonidas gritted his teeth, getting into a battle position.

"Why so serious?" Inkler asked, sitting up.

"Because the lid is about to come off hell."


	6. Mad Squid

**Before we start, if you guys haven't heard Living Tombstone's latest songs (Dog of Wisdom and Squid Melody) YOU NEED TO, HOLY CRAP THEY ARE AMAZING! Also, I've settled on a design for Rem's robotic arm. Anyone who's a fan of Full Metal Alchemist will know what it's like. Anyway...**

 **On the last episode of Splat X 2! Ix reached his breaking point and achieved a new form, named Shadow Ix. The fight against Majin Rem brought the Sea Lion's underwater complex to it's limit, destroying it. Now with Majin Rem about to arrive in Inkopolis, will it suffer the same fate? Find out this time in Splat X 2!**

Majin Rem dropped into the plaza, facing Leonidas, a malicious grin on her face.

"It's the Full Metal Dragoon!" A young Inkling shouted.

"Shit!" Leonidas hissed through gritted teeth, lowering his head.

"Sign my shirt! No! Sign my hat first!" The Inklings that crowded around the girl screamed, holding said objects up to her face.

"You're irritating me." Majin Rem hissed, though nobody heard her "I said" She brought her palm up to her face, like she was about to slap someone.

"No!" Leonidas started running towards the crowd.

"YOU'RE IRRITATING ME!" Majin Rem screamed, blasting the crowd away. They hit the buildings, colouring them all kinds of shades. Leonidas stopped dead in his tracks as it happened. Inkler, Inkala and Inkward stared at Majin Rem in shock, shivering.

"You." Majin Rem pointed to Leonidas as the plaza emptied, the screaming running through the city "Do you know the location of Ix, Callie and Marie?"

"I know where they are. But you're mad if you think I'll tell you." He frowned, cracking his knuckles.

"Tell me! Now!" Majin Rem shouted.

"Rem!" Inkala ran to Leonidas' side "What's gotten into you?"

"Hmph. I'm only interested in talking to this red head." Rem crossed her arms. Her and Leonidas locked eyes, glaring.

"That isn't Rem." Leonidas said firmly "She's under mind control. Listen, I have a plan. But I need you all to distract her."

"That doesn't seem too hard." Inkler shrugged.

"For five minutes. And considering how quickly she took down Callie and Marie...Ah, there's three of you in perfect condition, you'll be fine." Leonidas took out his phone "Now what was his number, again?" He ran for cover.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me. Come on, Inkler. Let's do this!" Inkward grinned, sprinting towards Majin Rem.

"First one? Alright, let's see how quickly I can take you all down!" Majin Rem cackled, catching Inkward's kick. She threw him backwards and went for a kick herself, sending him rolling across the plaza. He laughed the small injuries off and dashed straight back at Majin Rem, punching her in the face. She growled and swung her fist.

Inkler grabbed it himself and bent the controlled girl's arm behind her back, pushing her down. She immediatly sprung back up, swinging her arm around. Inkler's ability immediatly activated, which allowed him to see the outcome of a scenario. Majin Rem's arm would hit him, knocking him out. He immediatly ducked and Majin Rem's arm whipped over his head.

"555...173...869! There!" Leonidas smirked, pressing the call button on his phone "Come on, pick up..."

Treble picked up his phone, he was wearing a red jacket with white triangles on the shoulders, blue shorts and black and red trainers "Hello?"

"Treble, right?" Leonidas ducked as Inkala flew over his cover, she jumped off the speaker she was heading towards and slammed her fist into Majin Rem's gut. She recoiled, clutching her stomach and hissing.

"Hah, this is way too easy!" Inkward laughed.

Majin Rem started chuckling, looking back up at the trio "I wasn't even trying."

"Yeah, who is this?" Treble raised an eyebrow.

"My name's Leonidas. I need you to get to Inkopolis Plaza as soon as you can!" Leonidas shouted.

"Why? Didn't someone just kill a bunch of kids there!?" Treble gasped.

"Rem's under mind control! She killed them! I need you to get here!" Leonidas barked.

"Rem!? I-I'll be right there!" Treble hung up, stuffing his phone in his pocket and running out of his apartment and into the elevator.

Leonidas sighed in relief, then heard Inkala scream. He looked out of his cover and saw Inkward lying on the floor, bleeding heavily. Inkala was in shock, Inkler glaring at Majin Rem.

"I was too slow..." Inkler muttered.

"You...YOU...!" Inkala yelled, slinging her fist at Majin Rem's chest. The large spheres under Majin Rem's shirt cushioned the blow. Inkala nervously grinned as she made eye contact with Majin Rem "Can I try again?"

A split second before Majin Rem slammed her elbow down, Inkler pulled Inkala away from her "Thanks for the save." Inkala grinned, wiping some dirt off her leg.

"Don't mention it." Inkler smirked, the two getting ready to fight again.

 _"Ack, I hope he shows up soon."_ Leonidas frowned, putting a finger to his head as he tried to remember another phone number.

*Ty and Vybe's apartment*

"This is your fault, Callie!" Marie screamed, jabbing her finger at Callie.

"My fault!? What did I do!?" Callie retorted, grabbing Marie's arm and forcing it down.

"You made the stupid decision to bring Rem and Ix into that fight with the Octarians! If we had just gotten Maria back in, none of this would have happened!"

"You know well she chose to retire to raise them! Do you know how much shit she went through during her career!?"

In another room, Ix was sitting on a chair, the whole arguement could be heard throughout the whole building. He let his head fall onto his crossed arms on the desk in front of him, tears on the edge of his eyes _"It's my fault..."_

"Are you ok, Ix?" Vybe asked, walking into the room, her head slightly tilted.

Ix looked up, quickly wiping his eyes "Yeah, I'm fine..." He sighed, staring down at the table.

"You don't sound like it." Vybe said firmly, crossing her arms.

"I-I'm fine!" Ix looked away, tears appearing at the edge of his eyes again.

Vybe sighed heavily through her nostrils, walking up to Ix and putting a hand on his back "Listen, I know it's difficult to listen to, but it'll all be alright in the end. Understand?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT, MARIE!?" Callie screamed in her cousin's face, then immediatly slapped her with all her might "We're done!" She marched into the room, grabbed Ix, and pulled him out of the building.

Vybe quickly shook her head as she processed what the hell just happened "Or not."

Ty burst into the room, their three climbing all over him "What the hell was wall that about!?"

"I dunno. Callie and Marie woke up, started talking, then got into a huge arguement. Then Callie just marched right on in, grabbed Ix and left." Vybe shrugged.

Marie let herself fall onto the sofa, looking down. She remembered what happened all those years ago with Marcus, the first big conflict she had ever been in. She sighed as she rubbed her cheek, her bottom lip quivering slightly.

Ty's phone started ringing, he quickly picked it up "Hello?"

"Yeah, hi! It's Leonidas! Again! I need you to get to the plaza, shit's going down! K, thanks bye!" Leonidas said quickly, hanging up the second he was done talking.

"Um, I need to go out." Ty grinned nervously.

Vybe rolled her eyes, grinning "Alright, I know why." She took the three kids into her arms "Just don't get yourself killed."

"Do you really believe in me that much?" Ty smiled, gathering his objects.

"Maybe. Hahaha!" Vybe laughed. Ty quickly kissed her cheek and ran out of the building and towards the plaza.

 _"I should probably talk to Marie."_ Vybe thought.

*Inkopolis Plaza*

Treble had arrived at the scene, providing cover for Inkler.

"So the plan is to just beat her until she gives in or something!?" Treble shouted, pulling out a paint brush and painting a red, blue and green triangle in the air, which fired a triangular blast of energy at Majin Rem, who dodged it at the last second.

"Yeah, pretty much! And thanks for making that shield for my big bro and big sis!" Inkler yelled back, grabbing a Splattershot from the remains of Ammoknights and firing. He then saw Shelldon's goggles lying on the floor, along with his clothes "Sh-Shelldon!" He gasped, allowing Majin Rem to teleport in front of him. He quickly ducked and shot a barrage of ink at Rem from underneath her. He kicked her over and ran back to his cover.

"But what I want to know is where's Leonidas!?" Treble shouted, looking around the plaza.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! I had other buisness to attend to!" Leonidas lept out from the alley he had previously moved to, firing a few blasts of energy at Rem. He rolled as he landed, landing between the two other Inklings "Let's just say...we got a BEACON of hope heading our way!"


	7. Soap

Ix sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor, his mind filled with words. He sighed and let his head fall into his hand, closing his eyes.

"I'm a fucking failure..." He said to himself, taking a deep breath _"A failure! THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE!"_ He screamed at himself in his mind _"You can't fight for shit! And now look at what's happened! Your sister's being controlled, your crush probably hates you and...AND...!"_ His thoughts were interrupted by Callie stepping into the room, watching him worriedly.

"Um...are you ok?" She asked quietly, but loud enough for Ix to hear her.

Ix let out a heavy breath through his nostrils, looking down to the floor "No..."

Callie shook her head, frowning and crossing her arms "I'm sorry. I know it was so hard to hear, now that you-"

"Consider you as my Mom?" Ix interrupted her, his eyes half closed. There was a brief silence in the room, the sounds coming from the fight in the plaza could only be heard. Callie broke it by taking a deep breath.

"It's just...I'm so sorry." Callie shook her head violently. Ix stood up and hugged her, releasing her after a few seconds.

"It's not your fault...it's mine." He frowned, throwing himself back onto the bed. There was another silence, until Ix's phone rang. He slowly reached over and picked it up "Hello?"

"Ix! Get your ass to the plaza! Now!" Inkler shouted, throwing the now broken Splattershot at Majin Rem, then grabbing an E-Liter.

Ix groaned and hung up, wiping his hand across his forehead "I don't want to fight her."

Callie suddenly grabbed Ix by the front of his shirt, glaring at him, showing her teeth "You are not a failure!"

"You heard..." Ix sighed, prying Callie's fingers off his shirt "Callie, there's no point in me continuing. Everyone else would probably do better than I ever could."

"Stop getting down on yourself! I don't want you getting depressed again! What would Marie think!?" Callie shouted, grabbing Ix again. A shadow covered his eyes, though Callie knew there was a glare behind it. He grabbed her arm, forcing her hand off him again. He stood up and grabbed the Hero Charger that was leaning against the wall. Just before he slammed the door, Callie saw the M scratched into the weapon's side, an I on its side underneath.

*Inkopolis Plaza*

"Well, is Ix coming?" Leonidas dashed to Inkler's cover, holding an Octobrush.

"I don't know. He didn't really even say anything." Inkler shrugged.

"I'm here!" Ty shouted, running to Inkler and Leonidas.

"Oh good, you finally got here. Now, we need to use your Beacon on Rem, but-" Leonidas pointed to Rem, who was in a fist fight with Treble

"But what?" Inkler asked.

"We need to distract her." Leonidas said flatly, turning back to face the other two.

"For how long?" Inkler flinched.

"Long enough to use the Beacon." Leonidas shrugged.

"Ok, good. How long is that?" Inkler poked his head out, Treble and Majin Rem were now in a power struggle, pushing each other will as much strength as they could.

"One minute and thirty seconds." Ty began to get out the Prayer Slips "At least for what I have to do."

"...Why?" Inkler groaned, he poked his head out and saw Majin Rem and Treble...kissing? They almost immediatly saw him and went back to fighting _"Well that's freaking disturbing. Well, might as well get it out of my head now. Here goes nothin'!"_ He lept from the alley, sprinting towards Majin Rem.

Majin Rem immediatly took notice of him, kicking him in the chest. He hit a wall and slid down, quickly aiming down the scope of the E-Liter and firing, Majin Rem dodged it with ease.

"You're forgetting someone!" Treble grinned, painting a triangle in the air, the triangular beam fired from it straight to Majin Rem, hitting her in the back. She grunted and spun around to face Treble. Another Charger shot was heard, the Ink barely missing Majin Rem "Who?" Treble looked up to where the Ink came from. At the top of a partially collapsed building was an Inkling with blue hair, his face partially obscured by the shadows. He was holding the Hero Charger in his left hand, watching Majin Rem.

"Yeah! Ix!" Ty grinned as Ix jumped down, landing directly in front of Majin Rem. He stood up, staring Majin Rem down.

"So, hotshot, you wanna fight?" Majin Rem smirked.

 _"Oh god I know what's coming."_ Ty flinched, waiting for Ix to say it.

"Fight you? No." Ix smiled, looking over to Ty "I wanna get my sister back."

Ty sighed in relief as he prepared the Beacon, the prayer slips began floating in the air around him. Majin Rem didn't notice it, but there was now a faint yellow glow around her.

Ix smirked and spun the Hero Charger around in his hand, whacking Majin Rem with the part that held the Ink. She growled and swiped at him, he jumped back and threw the Hero Charger into the air, quickly punching Majin Rem several times and catching an Inkbrush as it fell from the sky, holding it in a guard position after he knocked Majin Rem away.

"How did...?" Inkler blinked, staring at the Inkbrush in awe.

"He had it modified, he's best with Chargers and the Inkbrush, so he combined two into one for easy switching." Leonidas explained.

"But you can't switch during Turf Wars." Inkler protested.

"It's mainly to avoid those extra loading screens and to save time!" Ix shouted, blocking a downward punch from Majin Rem and spinning around, slinging her onto the floor.

"And there goes the Fourth Wall!" Treble groaned, creating a red X in the air.

"Oh, stop whinging! Ty! How goes the Beacon?" Ix grinned, spinning around Majin Rem as she stood back up, assuring she was facing away from Ty. She grabbed her and the yellow light around her got much stronger and she began to notice it.

"95%!" Ty shouted, the Prayer Slips floated over to Majin Rem, circling her "100%!" He smirked, firing a beam of yellow light from his index and middle finger. It hit Majin Rem directly in the back, going straight through her. The M on her forehead faded, as did the scars under her eyes. She fell over, eyes closed and breathing quietly.

"Don't worry, she's just asleep." Ty smiled, returning his Prayer Slips to him "She'll wake up in a few hours."

"Um, guys, have you...seen Marie around at all?" Ix threw the Inkbrush into the air, catching it when it came back down as the Hero Charger.

"Last I knew, she was at my apartment." Ty picked up his bag, looking around the plaza "You wanna see if she's still there?" Ix simply nodded, then Ty looked to Leonidas "By the way, Leonidas, do you have a place to stay at all?"

"No." Leonidas shook his head.

"You can stay with us if you want, we have a spare room."

"Alright, I'll stay." Leonidas nodded.

"I'll get Inkler and his siblings to their home." Treble put his paintbrush away, hands in his pockets.

"And Rem?" Inkler grinned, raising an eyebrow.

Treble chuckled, then picked Rem up "I'll get her home, too."

*Ty and Vybe's apartment, a few minutes later*

"I got you some clean clothes, your old ones were dirty as hell and smelt the part, too." Vybe frowned as she dropped Leonidas' dirty clothes in a washer, leaving a basket with a cyan polo, standard black and red shorts and Biker boots next to it, quickly leaving the room. Leonidas stood in the shower, staring up at where the water was coming from, almost motionless.

"So, we have a kid from the future living in our apartment now...Neat." Ty leaned back in his chair, hands against the back of his head.

"Not sure if neat is the word I'd use, but whatever floats your boat." Vybe shrugged lightly, sitting down in the sofa next to him "By the way, where did Ix and Marie go?"

"Marie wasn't here when we go back so Ix ran off to find her." Ty explained, looking out of the large window nearby.

"Blue woman! Where's the cleansing powder!?" Leonidas shouted from the bathroom.

"Hey, my name's Vybe! And we don't have this cleansing powder you're talking about, we use Soap!" Vybe shouted back.

"What in the name of hell is Soap!?" Leonidas yelled.

"See that pink block of animal fat on the side? That's the Soap!" Vybe sat back down, rolling her eyes. Ty laughed slightly.

"That sounds awesome!" Leonidas grinned, chomping down on the block "BLEH! This sounds nothing like what you said!"

"DAMNIT, LEONIDAS!" Vybe screamed.

 **Why can Leonidas not die in the shower? Well, it's been established in the group that Inklings can survive water in controlled amounts, hence why Leo didn't take any damage or die.**


	8. Protect the Future

Marie sat in the middle of the clearing in the forest, staring down at the ground. The sound of the crashing waterfall nearby filled the clearing, she breathed heavily and closed her eyes, focusing. She saw a crack of light in the darknes of her closed eyes, she concentrated on that crack, trying to make it bigger. The sound of someone stepping on a branch broke her concentration. She sighed and looked up at the waterfall, seeing two Inklings watching her from the top.

"You were close." A female voice said.

"I know..." Marie sighed, looking down at the floor.

"How is Callie?" A male voice asked, the Inkling on the left moving slightly.

Marie was silent, she rubbed the cheek that Callie had slapped, looking down to the floor again.

"I know what you mean. I won't say anything." The male voice said, the left Inkling turning around "Leave. Don't come back for a week."

Marie silently nodded and stood up, turning to leave, when she saw Ix in the arch that lead to the exit of the clearing "Ix? How did you get here?"

The two beings that were watching from the waterfall vanished into the shadows when they saw Marie talking to Ix.

"I looked through your diary. Led me right here." Ix said, hands on his hips.

Marie blushed, her cheeks burning up "Y-You didn't read all of it. Did you?" Ix was silent, only reaching up to his band and taking it off, letting his tentacles fall, reaching down to his upper back.

"Maybe I did." He grinned playfully, crossing his arms.

Marie's blush completely covered her face, she quickly hid it from Ix, turning away from him.

"You don't need to be embarassed, Marie. I thought it was cute." Ix put a hand on Marie's shoulder, smiling. Marie removed her hands from her face, slowly turning back to face Ix.

"You...think it was cute?"

*Ty and Vybe's apartment*

Leonidas sat alone in the apartment, hands across the back of the sofa. He looked out the window and down at the city below him, Inkopolis Tower rising into the sky a fair while away. He looked to the sky, frowning "I hope everyone's alright..."

*Leonidas' time*

"You've stayed longer than usual." Cal said, setting a cup of liquid on the table next to the blue haired Inkling.

"They're going to attack soon, Callie. You know that." The blue haired Inkling said roughly, grabbing the cup, downing the liquid and slamming the cup back down on the table.

"I know, Ix. I know." Callie sighed, closing her eyes, then looking down a hall to a door "Your daughter. She worries about you."

"I couldn't protect Marie, Callie. I could have just pulled her away, and what did I do? I stood there and watched her die!" Ix shouted, slamming his head onto the table, soon breaking into tears.

"Ix, please don't cry." Callie said comfortingly, putting a hand on his back.

"I just...just want to see her again!" Ix sobbed, not lifting his head "I want to see them all again!"

"I do, too. I miss everyone." Callie frowned, looking upward.

"Nobody has any reason to give me sympathy...I let everyone die." Ix sat up, still looking down "It's just not fair. Everyone's dead...because of ME!"

"Ix, I don't want you getting like this again." Callie huffed, crossing her arms.

Ix stood up, his legs pushing the chair over "Goodbye, Callie." He scowled as he walked past her "Don't expect to see me again."

Callie was quiet as Ix left, not turning as he exited. She heard slam of the door echo through the bunker. Another door opened and Jazz of the room it lead to. Callie sprinted for her and grabbed the back of her shirt "Don't, Jazz."

"B-But I can't let him die out there!" Jazz shouted, pulling against Callie's iron grip.

"You'll die as well!" Callie yelled, pulling Jazz closer to her.

"He's my Dad! I love him!" Jazz yelled back, tears forming in her eyes. Callie glared at Jazz, spinning her around and grabbing her shirt again. She raised her hand and slapped Jazz across the face. She fell to the ground, whimpering.

"It's better he dies than you."

*Current Time*

"Hey, Leonidas! You hear me?" Vybe snapped her fingers next to Leonidas' ear. He didn't react at all, staring up at the orange sky. She groaned and put a tentacle on the back of Leonidas' head, shocking him. She quickly removed the tentacle as he reminded himself of where he was.

"What happened?" He asked, tilting his head.

"You were staring at the sky for hours. I got home at about 0230, you were just standing there. It's been six hours since then." Vybe explained, making wild hand movements as she did.

"...I was just thinking about my time. And my home." Leonidas sighed, looking down to the floor.

"What about your family?" Vybe raised an eyebrow a small amount. Leonidas was silent, avoiding eye contact with Vybe "...I understand." Vybe nodded, walking towards the sound of a crying child.

Leonidas watched Vybe as she left, the sound of the crying child filled his ears. That was the future of his kind, crying children. In pain. Torture. Being tested on, those savages trying to extract their power. And abuse it. The rage overflowed, his hair turning gold, the light filling the apartment.

"Leonidas! Stop it! You're scaring the kids!" Vybe yelled, running into the room.

Leonidas' flaming aura dissipated, but his golden hair remained. _"You're scaring the kids."_ Those words repeated in his mind, over and over. He was scaring their future. These three, he knew them. Their lives had been ruined. Nobody knows where Arata went, the last contact with him was seeing him run into the wastelands. Hikari had vanished off the face of the earth after achieving the 'Full Light' and Ryuu...was completely paralyzed. They were more important here than he would ever be in his whole life, no matter the time. His hair returned to normal and he sat on the floor, legs crossed and looking down.

"Sorry..." He sighed, keeping his gaze on the floor.

"You're stressed, I know." Vybe shook her head, looking down to the babies she was carrying in her arms.

Leonidas immediatly turned his head up to look at her when she said that.

"I know what it feels like, being out of the place you're so used to, you know?" Vybe lightly smiled.

"..." Leonidas looked back down to the floor, one hand across his forehead.

"Get some rest. You need to sleep." Vybe went back into the children's room.

Leonidas stood up, thinking about Vybe's words. He faced the window, the sky was now dark, the streets of Inkopolis illuminated by lights from the buildings _"I'll keep everyone safe. Especially your children."_


	9. Marix

Rem slowly woke up, she was in her bedroom, facing the ceiling. She looked around, observing the room. Everything was as she remembered it, the poster of her and Ix on the wall, the box Callie had hung just out of her reach, only saying she would get it on Christmas. She'd done the same with Ix. Rem smiled at Callie's playfullness, then tried to push herself up with her right shoulder. It didn't respond.

"Hm." Rem tested her other arm and legs, they responded just fine "Must be broken. I'll need to get Ty on this soon." She stood up and was hit by a sudden wind of freezing air, despite the windows being closed _"Damn, sure is cold in here."_ She left the room and went downstairs, seeing Callie watching the TV in the lounge. But she seemed to be more in thought than actually paying attention.

"Um, Callie?" Rem said, focusing on the pink and black haired squid. She was immediatly brought out of her thoughts and quickly faced Rem.

"Oh thank god you're alright!" She breathed a sigh of relief, standing up and giving Rem a brief hug "Everything working?"

"Yeah, just can't work my right arm." Rem grinned "And I'm surprisingly cold."

Callie put on hand on her chin, then her smile soon returned "We'll get your arm fixed, don't worry. You're probably cold because you just woke up, come on, sit here." She sat back down, patting a spot next to her. Rem sat down and let herself get lost in her thoughts, then a question came up.

"Where's Ix?" She asked, shifting her eyes to Callie.

Callie frowned and shook her head "I don't know. Last I saw him, he went into Marie's room, then came out thirty minutes later. Haven't heard anything from him since."

"Damn..." Rem tightened her fist, scowling.

*The Forest Clearing*

"I can't go back, Ix. I'm just too afraid." Marie frowned, staring at the base of the waterfall.

"Marie, people are worrying about you back home." Ix said firmly "I'm worried about you."

"But Callie's still going to be mad...she was always mad at me when we were kids." Marie tightened her hand into a fist, a small tear falling down her face.

"Marie, you're strong. That's what I like about you." Ix let his arms fall to his side, slowly walking towards Marie.

Marie ignored him, the horrid memories of 20064 filling her mind "But Callie can be so...so scary at times."

Ix suddenly wrapped his arms around Marie, spinning her round to face him. He stared into her eyes. The two stood there for a few moments, though it seemed like an eternity. Marie's blush slowly returned, their eyes never losing contact. Ix smiled gently, his eyes said it all.

"Marie, I love you. Don't cry."

Marie was quiet for a moment, thinking about Ix's words. Her blush soon covered almost all of her face "Ix..." She paused "I...um..."

Ix tilted his head slightly, both silent as Marie thought about what to say next.

"I love you, too."

The pair were silent again, slowly moving closer together. Ix pulled her in faster, their lips meeting one another. They stayed that way for what felt like an eternity; their entire lives focused on that one point in time. The two didn't mind: They wanted it to be like this for the rest of their lives.

They slowly pulled apart ever so slightly, continuing to stare into each other's eyes. A few seconds passed, neither of them moving. Marie quietly reached for the back of Ix's neck, scratching it with one finger. He purred, giving Marie a flirtatious look, then returned the favor, gently scratching Marie's back. A loud purr escaped her as she closed her eyes, a large smile on her face.

*Ty and Vybe's apartment*

Leonidas sat against the wall, scribbling down something in a notebook. He paused for a second, putting the pencil against his chin, then continued drawing. Eventually, he found a baby cyan squid climbing onto him. He looked down and saw them looking right back at him. A grin eventually formed on his face "Ryuu, right?"

Ryuu made a gurgling noise, clambering up Leonidas and eventually settling on top of his head.

"You're a right little athlete, ain'tcha?" Leonidas chuckled, looking up at the baby squid. He gurgled again, pointing to Leonidas' notebook "Ya wanna see what's in here?"

Ryuu nodded, ushering Leonidas to open the notebook.

"Alright, alright! Heh, even as a kid, you're still pretty impatient." Leonidas opened the notebook, a picture of a golden ring in the hand of an Inkling was on the first page, it had several equations and pieces of data pointing to it. Ryuu cooed as he saw it, moving to get a closer look "I call this R-G Tech. It's meant to give the user a protective spinning barrier, letting them bust through anything." Leonidas explained, using hand gestures to simplify it.

Ryuu was clearly interested, pointing to the next page. A grey and white set of sneakers, the laces seemed to be made of cyan lasers.

"Ah, these are Grav-airs. To put it simply; it lets you skate on the air." Leonidas explained, pointing to various pieces of writing on the page.

"Having fun?" Vybe asked, sitting on the nearby sofa.

Leonidas laughed "Yep, he seems to be interested in my projects." He smiled. He then heard the sound of light snoring "Is he?"

Vybe giggled, one hand over her mouth "Yeah, he fell asleep on you."

Leonidas grinned, looking up, barely able to see Ryuu leaning over the edge of his head slightly. What felt like a jolt of electricity suddenly struck him, the resulting flinch nearly knock Ryuu off his head "Guh..." Leonidas put one hand on his forehead.

"What was that?" Vybe blinked, a curious look in her eyes.

Leonidas looked down for a few second, then back up to Vybe "I have no idea." He shrugged, looking out of the window.

"Uh huh..." Vybe sat back and nodded.

"What time is it?" Leonidas asked, gently taking Ryuu off his head as he stood up.

"0130. Why?"

"...I'll be gone for a few hours." Leonidas set Ryuu down next to Vybe, grabbing his bag and leaving the room _"Mother should be awake by now."_

 **IT'S HAPPENING! IT'S ALL HAPPENING! Rem's back! Ix and Marie are in love! I would like to thank Tehreign for his assistance in writing Ix and Marie's first kiss *Squeak* But you can call him Super Ultra Hyper Alpha Omega True Full Power 100% Ultimate Mystic Kaioken Mega Thesaurus Dictionary Fishsticks Megatron Optimus Prime Bumblebee Starscream Galvatron Peace Walker Destructo Disk Bigger Longer and Uncaught Tehreign.**

 **So, I recently started watching Sonic X again. The intro made me melt from an overload of nostalgia. Hm? How am I writing this, you ask? *Fades into the ground* You didn't see anything.**


	10. Family Union

_"Oh, so you're the two who beat Vinyl and Rek." The human clad in black high tech armour said, sharpening a knife._

 _"And you're next." Rem scowled, fire surrounding her fist. She lunged at the armour clad human, screaming._

 _"Not so fast!" He pointed to a seven year old squid lying on the ground behind him, guns pointed directly at him._

 _"L-Leonidas!" Rem stopped dead in her tracks, shocked "You bastard, Fade."_

 _"Maybe. But take one more step and he dies." Fade held up a remote, thumb resting on a button._

 _"Don't you dare!" Treble screamed, blasting towards Fade at full speed. In under a second, Fade pulled out a knife and threw it at Treble. It pierced his head, going straight through his brain and out the other side of his head. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell out of the air, face down on the ground, a puddle of blood soon around his head._

 _"T-Treble...TREEEEBLE!" Rem screamed, her flames lashing out around her. She punched Fade in the face, a small crack appearing on his visor. He huffed and vanished, appearing behind Rem and slamming her into the ground, stomping on her back. He pulled out a pistol and aimed at Rem's head. He looked over to Leonidas, pulling the trigger. The sound echoed through the room. Leonidas just lay there, crying._

 _"I guess I'll dispose of you now." Fade aimed his pistol at Leonidas, smiling beneath his visor._

 _Leonidas began to crackle with electricity, the weapons surrounding him either fell to pieces or exploded. His usual full red body would occasionaly turn gold, the one tentacle the covered his eye lifting up every few seconds. A yellow flame surrounded him as his body began to change rapidly, ink coming off of him like a waterfall, his humanoid form beginning to take shape. His height increased rapidly as he stood up, tears falling from his eyes with seemingly no end._

 _"You...YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND!" He screamed, the ground beginning to shake. His red hair would go gold more often and for longer,his hair sometimes refusing to defy gravity._

 _"I would like to see you try." Fade kicked the dead body of Treble over to Rem's, soaking her clothes in blood._

 _The ground began to shake like there was a Magnitude 9 Earthquake, Leonidas' yellow flame whipping around him. Glass around the room shattered, the shards falling to the ground. Leonidas couldn't take it anymore. He screamed to the sky, the steel around him getting torn out of the groud. His he turned his head down to face Fade, death flooded his eyes. Fade cackled, taunting Leonidas. Leonidas roared as he shot towards Fade, punching him so hard he was sent across the room, creating a huge dent in the wall he hit. He hissed as he vanished, appearing in front of Leonidas and kicking him, sending him into the air, quickly following up by a spinning kick. He flew across the room, landing on his feet, a horrid screeching noise came from the steel as he slid along it. He growled as he blasted back towards Fade, screaming at the top of his lungs. Fade silently uppercutted him, sending him flipping over and landing on his back. There was a flash of gold light as Leonidas returned to his normal state. Just before he closed his eyes, he heard another gun shot, then someone screaming._

 _"MARIE!"_

Leonidas gasped as he was brought back to reality. He looked around, observing his surroundings. He was standing next to a river, the wind was blowing gently. He looked down at the river, sighing through his nose. He turned slightly, seeing a house that looked like it cost several hundred thousand coins. He held up a picture, the wreckage of the exact same house "That's it." He put the picture back in his bag, walking up to the house and knocking on the door.

Callie opened the door, tilting her head when saw Leonidas "Hey...I know you. Ty sent me a picture of you. What are the odds?" She smiled, putting her fists on her hips "So, what's your name?"

"My name's Leonidas. I'm here to see Rem." Leonidas said, slightly tightening his grip on his bag.

"Oh, you are? Alright. Hey, Rem! Remember that red haired boy!?" Callie shouted into the house.

"Yeah!?" Rem shouted back.

"He's right here! He says he wants to speak to you!" Callie shouted. Leonidas groaned, clenching his teeth.

Rem soon arrived at the door, her right arm had been removed, so her sleeve was hanging, completely empty "Darn, you really do look like me."

"Um, well, ya see..." Leonidas stammered.

"Come on, spit it out." Rem rolled her eyes, stuffing her hand in her pocket.

"I'm your son." Leonidas said.

"WHAT!?" The two girls screamed in unison.

*Inkopolis Cafe*

Ix and Marie were sat at a table together, completely quiet. Footsteps approached them, Ix looked up and saw a pink haired female Inkling walking to them, her hair tied back.

The young female smiles her trademark smile as she gathered her pencil and notebook, flipping it open to and open page "Welcome, welcome! What can I get fer y'all today?"

Ix glanced over to Marie briefly, then back to the girl "Two Milk Teas, please."

"Awright, two Milk Teas, anything else y'all want?" The girl smiled.

Ix glanced over to Marie again, then back to the girl "No, that's all, thanks."

The girl nodded, smiling as she turned back around and headed for the counter.

Ix looked over to Marie, she was looking down at the table, hands resting together on it "Mar? You ok?"

Marie looked up, seemingly confused "I'm...I'm ok." She nodded, looking out of the window closest to her. Ix put his hand on hers, she turned her head to face him again.

"Marie, there's no need to be scared." He looked into her eyes "I'm sure she'll have forgiven you."

"No, it's not that. It's something else." Marie held Ix's hand, looking down to the table "I..."

"Here's yer Milk Teas!" The female Inkling said happily, carefully placing the mugs onto the table.

"Thanks." Ix nodded, smiling gently.

"Y'know, y'all remind me of some people ah know. Cute little couple, they are." She grinned "But ah'll leave y'all to your drinks now." She turned again, heading back to the counter.

"Mar, whatever's troubling you, let's talk about it when we get back home." Ix smiled, stroking Marie's hand gently with his thumb. She looked at him, his warm smile helping clear her thoughts. She silently nodded, a half smile appearing on her face. She sat back in her chair and began to drink her Milk Tea, though there was just one thought that wouldn't leave her alone.

*Callie and Marie's house*

"So let me get this straight. You're from an alternate future, fifteen or so years from now." Rem rested her arm across her upper legs.

"Yeah." Leonidas nodded.

"And in your time, almost everyone except Callie, Ix, Ty, Ryuu, Inkala and Kalmar is dead."

"Uh huh. It's depressing, I know." Leonidas said, looking over to a picture hung on the wall of the members of the Squidbeak Splatoon.

"Not only that, the humans, even though they're supposedly called the ancients, have come back from interplanetary colonies and taken over the world, using some sorta cannon to wipe out almost every Inkling and Octarian in existance." Rem tilted her head "That really is depressing."

"You get used to it after fifteen years." Leonidas kept his focus on the picture, then looked back to Rem, silently watching her.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"Wha-Um, no. It's just seeing you like this. I haven't seen your face in seven years." Leonidas chuckled, grinning slightly.

"You need anything to drink...?" Callie asked.

"Leonidas."

"Right. You need a drink?"

"No thanks, Aunt Cal, I'm fine." Leonidas nodded.

"Aunt Cal?" Callie tilted her head.

"Huh? Oh, um, it's what I call you back in my time." Leonidas scratched the back of his head nervously.

 _"But you're not even related."_ Rem thought.


	11. Chill

Ix stood facing the city surrounded by the force field, silent. He looked behind them, then back to the city. He powered up, a blue aura surrounding him. A shooting star streaked across the night sky above him, glistening.

 _"Marie, Jazz...after tonight, this city will be nothing but rubble. I may be gone, but this planet will be safe again. I'll stake my miserable life on it."_ His blue aura molded into a dome around him, spiking on occasion. Alarms soon sounded around the edge of the city, drones surrounding him.

"Stop your attack and submit at once, or we will open fire!" A voice shouted from one of the drones. Ix grinned, bringing up his right fist as the dome began to swirl around him faster. He cackled, the ground beginning to shake around him.

"Listen here you pathetic scum! I don't care if you came first, this is our planet and it has been longer than you ever had it!" Ix shouted, his aura beginning to thrash about "Now either YOU submit and let us kill every last one of you, or..." Ix grinned maniacally.

"Or?" The voice came from the drone again.

"Heh heh...TAKE THIS!" Ix lept into the air, releasing all his energy into a huge, blinding explosion. It smashed through part of the barrier, vaporising anything that was unforunate to get in its way. Ix's screaming echoed through the wastelands, the explosion visible from hundreds of miles away.

With one final scream, the last of Ix's energy left his body, the explosion blasting out, creating a shockwave that ripped through the wastelands. Ix slowly began turning to dust, getting blown away by the wind, his screaming only stopping as the last part of him was blown away. Before he vanished forever, his voice could be heard in the air.

"Everyone...I love you all..."

Jazz jerked awake, quickly sitting straight up. She put her face in her palms, moaning. She looked around, the room was dark, the objects around it barely visible. It was suddenly shaken by some unknown force, knocking things of the shelves and desks. An incredible feeling of dread washed over her, something didn't seem right. She huffed and let herself fall back in the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She then looked over to her bedside stand, a picture resting on it. She reached for a light above her head, turned it on, then held the picture in her hands. It was a picture of her when she was four years old, she was sitting on one of Ix's shoulders, Marie pressing herself against the other. Ix had the same confident grin, but he'd never smiled like that since Marie died.

Jazz put the picture back on the stand, rolling over and burying her face in her pillow, crying herself back to sleep.

*Present Time*

Rem put her arms around herself, shivering "Why am I so cold?"

"I'm not sure myself. This never happened in my timeline." Leonidas shrugged, putting a hand on his mother's shoulder, she was cold as stone "Here." He reached into his bag, taking his hoodie out.

"Thanks." Rem smiled, putting it on "That's better." She leaned back in the sofa, wiping her forehead.

Leonidas' ears pricked up slightly when he heard someone knocking on the door.

"I got it!" Callie ran to it, quickly pulling it open "Marie!" She grinned, quickly embracing her cousin.

"Looks like they're back." Rem smiled, standing up and walking over to the other three.

"Sis!" Ix grinned, hugging Rem "I missed you!"

"Don't worry, I'm back." Rem smiled, gently stroking Ix's head. He released her and stood next to Marie again, holding her hand without realising "So why are you two holding hands?" Rem pointed to the two's hands.

"Wha-!? I, um, nothing! Just...staying close together...for safety." Ix stuttered, quickly releasing Marie's hand.

"That little blush says you've got another reason." Rem smirked, pointing to Ix's face.

"N-No!" Ix covered his face, his cheeks burning up.

Callie giggled at the sight, then turned to Marie "Marie, I'm sorry for hitting you."

Marie silently looked down for a few seconds, grinding her foot on the floor. She looked up at Callie "I forgive you."

Callie smiled, hugging her cousin, soon letting her go "Oh! There's someone I want you to meet, too."

"Huh? Who?" Marie asked.

"Me." Leonidas said, now standing behind Callie and Rem.

"You're the kid Ty sent a picture of to Callie, aren't you?" Marie pointed to Leonidas, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Leonidas nodded "Uh huh. And I have a lot to tell you."

*Several minutes later*

"Wow, that's really depressing." Marie frowned, looking at Leonidas sympathetically.

"I know. My whole life's been spent there. But, you get used to it." Leonidas shrugged lightly.

"You're surprisingly chill about this whole thing." Ix said, resting his head on his hand.

"Just wait 'til you see me fighting." Leonidas grinned, putting his index and middle finger together, a sword of energy sprouting from them.

"Whoa, that's cool." Ix's face lit up when he saw the sword. Leonidas parted his fingers, the sword dissipating into the air.

"Yeah, took me months to learn that move. Vegito made it seem much easier than it did." Leonidas smiled, leaning back in the sofa.

"Who's Vegito?" Callie turned her head to Leonidas.

"Um...just some great warrior from the past." Leonidas rubbed the back of his head nervously.

Callie shrugged, looking back to the others "Who's hungry?"

As if on cue, Leonidas' stomach growled "Heh, I haven't really eaten much in a while!" He laughed.

*Octo Valley*

An Octoling with long, purple hair walked through the destruction, hidden by the shadows. She walked past a lab that had been destroyed for years and was now covered by moss. She kept walking, eventually arriving at a large crack, large rocks sprouting from the ground. She stepped out from the shadows, her tentacles had several mechanical parts in them, the right half of her chin was also robotic. Her left hand was completely robotic, save for a few fingers. Her entire right leg was robotic, as well. She walked to a grave near the edge of a drop.

'Marcus ?-20064' It read.

The Octoling got down on one knee, placing some flowers in front of the grave. Her brown leather jacket flapped gently in the breeze as she silently knelt in front of the grave. She soon stood up, saluted, then left the area, tears slowly falling from her eyes.

 _"I'm sorry...I never got to avenge you, Marcus."_ She thought, keeping her eyes facing forward _"But, one day, I know I will."_

*Inkopolis Plaza*

Treble leaned against a wall under the walkway leading to the Battle Dojo, scrolling through a News Website on his phone, taking an occasional sip of a drink he was holding in his other hand. His thumb froze when he saw a certain title.

'Marie and Ix together?' It read. Leonidas scowled, opening up the page.

 _"I swear, the only good things that can support this theory are just two awfully taken pictures!"_ Treble shouted in his mind, frowning. The pictures in question were one of Marie and Ix in the cafe, sitting at a table together. The other was them walking together, holding hands _"But then again, that last one is pretty convincing. Agh, I'll call Rem, see what she has to say about this."_


	12. A Secret Revealed

"Amerinka! Fuck yeah!" Rem's phone buzzed in her pocket.

"Is that really your ringtone?" Ix grinned, covering his smile slightly.

"Yeah, so what?" Rem rolled her eyes, answering the phone "Hello?"

"Hey, Rem." Treble's voice came through the phone.

"Ha, Treble! What's up?" Rem smiled, sitting back in the sofa.

"Ah, nothin' much. Listen, I just saw some weird article on SU News." Treble shrugged.

"Really?" Rem tilted her head slightly.

"Yeah, it said that Ix and Marie are in a relationship. Do you know anything about this?"

A playful grin appeared on Rem's face, she held out her phone, putting it on speaker "Say that again, Treble? I couldn't hear you."

Treble chuckled "The article said that Ix and Marie could be in a relationship. Is this true?"

The couple yelped in fear, springing back, holding onto each other. Rem immediatly burst into laughter at the sight, dropping her phone when she fell back. Treble heard the laughter and couldn't help laughing himself, a few other Inklings briefly giving him a confused look.

Rem wiped a tear away from her eye "Ahaha...so it's true?" She smiled, picking up her phone again.

Ix looked down, blushing madly "Y-yes...it's true."

"Aw, that is so cute!" Callie beamed, making a small squeaking noise.

"Wha duff kyoot min?" Leonidas muffled through his mouth full of Pizza.

"You say something, Leo?" Rem looked to her son.

"...Muffin." Leonidas muffled, returning to chewing his Pizza.

Callie blinked twice, then looked at the couple again "So how long have you two been together?" She smiled, resting her head in her hands.

"About a day." Marie said, looking at Ix, smiling lightly.

 _"Damn paparazzi..."_ Ix growled in his mind, tightening his grip on his trouser leg.

"Plans on having kids?" Treble's voice came from the phone, causing Leonidas to nearly choke on his last Pizza slice.

"Wha-!? We only just got together!" Ix protested, waving his hands in front of him.

"Heh, well, I gotta go do some Turf Wars with my squad. Catch up with you guys later." Treble hung up, putting his phone back in his pocket, heading to Inkopolis Tower.

"So, if you two really are together" Rem grinned maliciously, resting her arm on the arm of the sofa "Kiss."

"Do we really have to, sis?" Ix groaned, rubbing his hands against his face.

"I'll ask every five minutes until you do it."

Ix groaned again, looking at Marie "Fine..." He wrapped an arm around Marie, pulling her closer to him. She grabbed Ix's shoulder, their lips meeting once again.

"Whoa..." Rem's jaw dropped slightly _"I'm so proud of you, Ix."_

A small squeal escaped Callie, she quickly covered her mouth when it did.

Ix parted with Marie, looking back to his sister "Happy?"

Rem grinned, shaking her phone in her hand "Recorded the whole thing."

"W-W-What!?" The two gasped.

"I am gonna get so many hits!" Rem cackled, sprinting up the stairs, into her room and slamming the door shut, sitting against it.

Leonidas finally swallowed the Pizza he had in his mouth the whole time as he watched the scenario unfold "Well that was...weird. Pizza tasted great, though."

Ix's phone suddenly started buzzing like crazy, his notification tone playing, then immediatly interrupting itself, continuing this for twenty seconds "I hate her so much right now." He groaned, pulling his hand down his face.

*Ty and Vybe's apartment, an hour later*

"Finally back?" Vybe looked over to Leonidas as he entered.

"Yeah. Turns out a lot of things have been going on." Leonidas nodded, sitting down on one of the sofas.

"Like?" Ty asked.

"Well, Rem's mechanical arm apparently isn't responding-" Leonidas said, quickly interrupted by Ty gasping.

"Oh god, did I do that? She's gonna be so mad and sue me for all I've got!" He stressed.

"Easy, honey! I'm sure she wouldn't do that. We'll probably see her tomorrow, anyway." Vybe smiled, leaning over and putting a reassuring hand on Ty's shoulder.

"Y-you're right. Sorry, got a little stressed." Ty chuckled.

"Yeah, I could tell. Anyway, the other thing is, Ix and Marie are in a relationship." Leonidas rolled his eyes ever so slightly.

"...Um, could you repeat that?" Vybe blinked.

"Ix and Marie are in a relationship." Leonidas said again.

"You gotta be kidding me." Ty's jaw dropped "Ix and Marie?!"

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Leonidas frowned "Ix and Marie are in a RE-LA-TION-SHIP."

"I know what you mean, smartass! But I never expected those two to get together." Ty waved his hand, taking a sip from his drink.

An Inkling with green hair, his tentacles swept to the side, was sitting in a chair opposite Leonidas "Ix? You mean that edgy goth kid? Why would Marie go for him?"

Leonidas shot the boy a death glare "Don't you dare talk about my family like that."

"Ix...is in your family?" Vybe scratched her head.

"That's where he gets the edginess from!" The green haired Inkling laughed.

"Shut up, you!" Leonidas shouted, giving the boy a death stare that would leave even the bravest Inkling scared.

"Yes, sir!" The boy quivered.

"Leonidas, Jericho, stop arguing." Ty scowled, his mug shaking in his grip.

"Yes Dad..." Jericho sighed, looking down.

Leonidas huffed, crossing his arms "Ix is my uncle."

"Your uncle? Then that means...Rem's your mom!" Vybe gasped.

"...Yeah." Leonidas said, looking away. He saw a girl hiding behind the cuirtans, her pink hair made her stand out against the red fabric. He ignored her and looked back to Ty and Vybe.

There was a sudden knock at the door, followed by the sound of crackling electricity "Ty? I broke me again" There was the sound of more crackling "Again-again-again-again." The electricity crackled again, then stopped.

"Great, she's back." Vybe growled.

"Yeah, I know we both don't like her, but we're kinda her only option for repairs. Plus, she works with us." Ty put his drink down, walking to the door and opening it. The face of an Octoling with long, purple hair was there. She had mechanical parts on some of her tentacles, her face, mechanical fingers on her left hand and an entirely metallic right leg "Long time no see, Trinity."

"Yeah, it's only been a week" Trinity's head crackled "Month-month-month-month" She crackled again "...Month."

"Yeah. So what did you break this time?" Ty grinned, putting his fists on his hips.

"Voice processor." Trinity frowned, pointing to her neck.

"You break that often. You should get it replaced." Ty laughed, letting Trinity in.

"Would love to. But I often don't get the reward from Turf Wars because I 'didn't participate'" Trinity scowled, air quoting 'Didn't participate'.

"Damn, sounds like corruption to me." Ty shrugged.

"I just think the damn cat bastard doesn't like me and is bribing whoever's running that stuff to not reward me." Trinity huffed.

"We'll get on that soon enough. Come on, let's get you fixed up."


	13. Fruit Tickling Rave

Trinity was lying on a large metal table, wires connecting her to several machines and computers. She was completely still as Ty carefully inspected a small green chip in his hand.

"So, met anyone recently?" He looked over to a computer screen, a program opened by itself, the white line blinked for a few seconds, then words appeared by themselves.

'Not really. Being a Cyborg Octarian doesn't really help.'

"Oh man, that must suck." Ty frowned, looking back to the chip. The white line remained still, only blinking. Ty was soon done with the chip, slotting it into Trinity's neck. He walked over to another computer, inputting a set of commands. The other computer turned off and Trinity's body sparked with yellow electricity. She opened her eyes, they were a light red.

"Loading TOS..." She said in a robotic voice "...Loading Complete." She shook her head violently all of a sudden, her eyes had returned to normal when she opened them again "Man, that was fast."

"Well, when SOMEONE breaks their Voice Processor at least fourteen times a month, you're bound to get good at fixing it." Ty chuckled, shaking Trinity's hand.

"Well at least you didn't break my Gyros again." Trinity laughed gently.

"Well maybe if they didn't put them down there" Ty pointed to the spot between Trinity's legs "I wouldn't have. Besides, that was the first time."

"Oh, BEHAVE, Ty!" Trinity grinned, both sharing a laugh.

*Callie and Marie's house, Midnight*

Rem growled when she heard what she was hearing. She threw the cover off her, marched up to her phone charger and snatched it off, quickly swiping her headphones and plugging them into the phone, putting them in her ears. She stopped walking, opened her music, then played it as loud as she could without the sound escaping. She jumped back into her bed, hiding under the covers.

What she had heard was several moans and grunts coming from Marie's room. In truth, it wasn't what Rem thought it was. The couple was simply playing a game, though the fact Marie was moaning was...questionable.

"How about this!?" Ix laughed, inputting a combo in at incredible speeds.

"You're only winning because you're using you own character!" Marie moaned.

"You're using Vegito!" Ix protested.

Callie suddenly burst into the room, furious "WHO. IS. VEGITO?!"

The fight on the screen had come to a stand still, both participators floating in the air. Marie weakly pointed to a tall man in blue and orange clothes with incredibly spiky hair "H-him."

Callie narrowed her eyes on Vegito "Use Spirit Sword."

"I don't have enough Ki!" Marie protested.

"Well then GET ENOUGH KI!"

"I swear to god, if you all keep me awake any longer, I will be so fucking nettle!" Rem yelled from her bedroom.

There was a brief silence, then Ix suddenly let out a victorious laugh "I win!"

Marie glanced over to the screen, seeing Ix's character behind a transparent green glass. She huffed, dropped the controller on the floor, then went straight to bed.

Ix watched his girlfriend silently for a few seconds, then looked to Callie "One match?"

"Yeah, just one." Callie smiled, picking up Marie's dropped controller. The character select screen appeared, Ix quickly selected his own custom character, a blue Arcosian. Or Frieza Race, whatever you call them. Callie slowly looked through all the available characters, picking Bardock.

"Bardock, eh? Alright, this will be interesting." Ix smiled as the match began. He immediatly started charging his Ki, Callie sent Bardock straight towards him, mashing the buttons like crazy. Bardock suddenly unleashed a huge combo on Ix's character, taking out a quarter of his health.

"Ha!" Callie grinned.

"Beginner's luck." Ix smiled, pressing both shoulder buttons, the Ultimate Skill Menu appearing "Blue Hurricane." He smirked, a huge blue tornado surrounding his character. Callie could only watch in horror as it hurtled towards Bardock, quickly emptying her health bar. Ix had won, completely destroying her. She growled, putting the controller down, then marched back to her own room. Ix chuckled at his victory, turning the console off. Before he even took one step out of the room, Marie sprung out of bed, grabbed him and pulled him back with so much force he flew off his feet, landing directly next to Marie on the bed.

"Yeah, like YOU'RE leaving this room after that." She cackled, putting her arm around Ix to prevent him from moving. A smile formed on Ix's face, managing to break his right arm free, reaching up to Marie's neck and tickling her "Oh god! Ix! Hahaha! Stop!" She burst out laughing, desperatly trying to move Ix's hand away, but it just came back every time.

"FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, SHUT UP!" A pair of green eyes stood in the darkness of the hall outside the room.

"Oh...um...sorry, Rem." Ix smiled nervously. His sister huffed, turning back and storming to her room.

"You still ain't leaving." Marie smiled.

Ix rolled his eyes "So sure?"

Marie grabbed him again, pulling him down next to her again. Before he could repeat his previous actions, she gently scratched the back of his neck, slowly sending him to sleep "I'm sure." She waited until Ix was snoring lightly, then turned over, soon falling asleep herself.

Rem let out a heavy sigh, turning off her phone and placing it back in its charging cradle. The instant she closed her eyes, however, music blared from a house down the street "EYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

*6AM*

Rem's eye twitched as she sat in her bed, legs crossed and hands between them. The music was still playing. That party had been going for six hours straight. She growled, her mouth beginning to twitch _"I will murder every last one of them."_ The music soon died down, along with the rainbow lights. Rem groaned, falling backwards into her bed and immediatly falling asleep.

For five. Lone. Seconds.

The door was kicked off its hinges, Leonidas stepped into the house, carrying another door and replacing the one he had just obliterated "Get up! We got something big going down at Diamond Beach!"

"SCREW YOU, LEONIDAS!" Rem yelled.

"Yeah, I know you just woke u-" Leonidas quivered when he heard his mother's enraged shouting.

"I WAS UP ALL NIGHT BECAUSE OF SOME IDIOTS THROWING A RAVE!" Rem shrieked.

"Jeez, mom calm down." Leonidas smiled nervously. Callie was suddenly running down the stairs, already in her hero suit.

"What's going on?" She asked, cracking her knuckles.

"There's ANOTHER Sea Lion creation destroying the place. I don't know what they're planning to do, but we need to get there quickly." Leonidas explained, tapping his foot impatiently.

 _"Wait, that complex wasn't their main base? Oh, this ain't good. And how many things do these guys have?"_ Callie questioned in her mind _"Questions for later."_

Ix was the next one to appear, wearing an open green and black shimmering jacket, a black shirt with 9,001 written on it, grey trousers and blue and gray boots. He was completely quiet, as if he was waiting for someone to comment on his jacket.

"Did Marie let you wear that?" Callie finally spoke.

Ix looked away from the two "Y-Yeah..."

"So, um, should we talk about anything while we wait for Marie and Re-" Callie was interrupted by an ear piercing shriek "...Marie."

"Have you seen Leonidas' hair, though?" Ix grinned, his eyes fixated on Leonidas' hair.

"Ix, this isn't the time." Leonidas frowned.

"No, no, you seriously look like a fruit. And I don't mean a homosexual, I mean an actual living fruit!" Ix grinned, a roulette wheel playing in his head during a brief silence "Mango!"

* * *

 **I hope to god everyone agrees that the Eggplant scene was the best in Dragon Ball Z Abridged 50. If you don't...then something is wrong. Very wrong. Anyway, Ix's character in Xenoverse DOES exist. At least on PC, so if any of you actually have Xenoverse PC, I'll gladly slap your squit silly. I kid, I squid. Anyway, EGGPLANT!  
**


	14. Mech vs Mecha

"Alright, I'm ready!" Marie called, adjusting the reflective jacket on her Hero Suit.

"Good, let's go!" Leonidas nodded, opening the door and launching into the sky. Marie grabbed Ix's hand as he followed Leonidas, Callie flying on her own.

"So do you even have a picture?" Callie asked, turning onto her back as she flew.

"...No. See, in my time, only Big Foot was ever brought out. I know I destroyed all the Walker Units, so this is new." Leonidas frowned. groaning.

"So that's, what? Three mechs you've missed for far? Do I hear four?" Ix chuckled.

"Just hurry up." Leonidas said coldly, increasing his speed.

"Harsh." Marie muttered. Leonidas heard her, despite the howling wind. He spat, a cocky grin on his face.

"Renegade for Life."

A few minutes of flight passed, nobody really doing anything other than fly, aside from Marie moving onto Ix's back. Eventually, the sea came into view, a large black and purple jet resting on a beach, covered in spikes.

"There." Leonidas pointed to it, slowing down.

"I WANT IT." Ix yelled, clenching his fist. There was a brief silence in the group, each one giving Ix a nervous glance "What? What?"

"Just...get to the damn beach." Leonidas groaned, dropping down to the beach. A group of police immediatly ran to him, then halted as Ix, Callie and Marie dropped down next to him. Marie let go of Ix, being the first of the group to inspect the jet.

"Doesn't seem like it's...doing anything." She hummed, tapping the jet. It suddenly whirred into life, the wings folding upwards, arms coming out from underneath them. The engines shifted up as legs sprouted from under them, the jet beginning to stand up. Marie ran back to the others, grabbing Ix's arm. The jet's cockpit folded down onto its chest, revealing a head with deadly horns. It towered above them, turning its head to them and getting on one knee, its face dangerously close to the group.

The sound of jet engines filled the air, though it wasn't from the mech. Eventually, shouting was also heard "Mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine...!"

"Does anyone else hear that?" Leonidas blinked, looking around.

"Yeah, and it's getting closer." Ix smiled, knowing what was about to come.

"And it really sounds like-" Leonidas' sentence was cut short as Trinity slammed into the mech's side, sending it toppling over and rolling through the sand.

"Mine." She smirked, bringing up her clenched fist.

"Trinity!" Callie beamed at the sight of her cyborg friend.

"That's Trinity?" Leonidas' jaw dropped when he saw Trinity.

"The one and only." Trinity grinned, crossing her arms.

 _"Wow...the legends were true. She IS incredible."_ Leonidas closed his mouth, shaking his head "You think we took it out?" He looked over to the mech, which quickly stood back up "Guess not."

"Let me handle this." Trinity cracked her knuckles, charging at the mech "And I won't ruin it, Ix!"

"You were tailing us!?" Ix clenched his teeth.

"Vy Volt Beam!" Trinity launched a bolt of electricity at the mech's leg, briefly disabling it. She grabbed onto its knee, throwing herself up onto its body. She grabbed hold of a large spike on its shoulder, hanging from it for a few seconds before beginning to swing. She let go and lept for the head, punching it with so much force a large dent appeared on the side of its head. It seemingly growled, bringing up its fist towards Trinity. The large guns on its wrist began firing. Trinity slapped the shells away, then began running in circles around the mech, sand being thrown all over. The mech stopped firing, then threw it fists towards Trinity. She caught it with both hands, grinding her teeth. She sent a nasty shock of electricty through the mech's body, allowing her to slam her fists into the mech's face at ridiculous speeds. It pushed itself back up, kicking Trinity away.

She backflipped in the air, correcting herself and landing with the thrusters in her feet. She landed, bringing up her left hand, a large orange hole was in her palm, it began to whir, parts spinning around inside it "Extermin- Oh, wait. I already made this joke in Of Ink and Science. Huh..." She shrugged, pausing and looking down "Fire!" She launched the large ball of energy that had been accumulating in front of her hand at the mech's foot. It connected, creating a large explosion.

"Is it dead?" Callie blinked, only to feel the ground shake and see Trinity leap into the air, smoke trailing off her. The mech made several loud noises until it blasted out of the smoke in its jet form. An idea quickly shot into Leonidas' head. He reached into his bag and pulled out a golden ring that easily fit in his hand.

"Trinity! Grab this!" He threw the ring to her. She grabbed it and activated her jet thrusters, both her and the mech now heading straight towards each other. An odd purple, spinning barrier surrounded Trinity, soon covering her completely. She boosted towards the jet, smashing through the nose and bursting out of the other end, leaving a purple streak behind her. The jet exploded and the parts fell from the sky, somehow not damaged in the slightest with the exception of the dents. Trinity landed, still with the spinning barrier. She sped over to the group, the barrier vanished and she was standing upright only a few inches in front of them.

"Thanks for that, Mango." She grinned, holding out her hand.

 _"I guess I'm going to be called Mango now...just take the compliment and shake her hand."_ Leonidas nodded, shaking Trinity's hand.

"What even was that, Leonidas?" Callie tilted her head, watching the red haired boy return the ring to his bag.

"Just something I've been working on. I've been meaning to test it in the field." Leonidas shrugged.

"Oh, and, sorry about wrecking the jet, Ix." Trinity chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head.

Ix was silent, watching the different parts of the jet scattered across the beach. He began to giggle like a schoolgirl, soon turning to all out laughter.

"What's so funny?" Trinity put her hands on her hips.

"Ah...it's just how easily you put these together. Anyway, we'll get these back somehow. Thanks for the help, T." Ix nodded.

"Any time." Trinity gave her signature leaving symbol, a simple flick of her hand, then flew into the distance.

"...I hear she's got a girlfriend." Callie said.

"That's nice- WAIT, WHAT!?" Leonidas jumped back.

* * *

 **Hm? What's the mech/jet from exactly? Well, here's a hint. The first word of the game is around you, but cannot be seen.**


	15. Triple Threat

*Treble's apartment*

"You mean you've lost your ability?" Treble asked. Both him and Rem were lying on his bed together, watching the ceiling.

"Yeah. I tried doing what I normally do to cook things at lunch and it didn't work. Not only that, I've been really cold recently. I even tried getting myself mad, but nothing happened..." Rem sighed, looking to the right.

"Wow, that's really weird." Treble shrugged, rolling over and supporting himself with his right elbow "So, why did you decide to come over here?"

Rem was silent for a second or two, avoiding Treble's gaze "Have...you ever been in a relationship?"

Treble racked his brain, trying to remember if he had "Hmm...No, I don't think I have. Why?"

"Oh, well, nothing. I was just curious." Rem shrugged, smiling playfully.

"You're interested in me, aren't you?" Treble smiled, putting his hand on Rem's side.

"Wha-! I, uh...I said I was just curious." Rem stammered, quickly half burying her head into the pillow.

Treble smirked, lying on his back again "You're cute, you know?"

Rem quickly spun around, looking flustered "What did you say?"

"You're cute. I really think you're cute at times." Treble smiled.

"...Nobody's ever said I'm cute before. They always just say 'Hey there, Hot Stuff.' Then I blast them into the nearest wall." Rem looked downwards, a slight blush appearing.

"TREBLE! ARE YOU MAKING OUT WITH THAT GIRL!?" An old female voice screamed from across the apartment.

"SHUT UP, MOM!" Treble screamed back, slamming his fist onto the bed, making Rem flinch slightly "Oh, um, sorry. Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah, I'm alright. So...that was your Mom?" Rem gave a nervous smile.

"Yeah. Heh, she doesn't trust me enough to move out." Treble scratched the back of his head, shrugging.

"So, um, what should we do now?" Rem asked.

"Well, don't you need to get yourself a new arm?" Treble sat up, legs crossed, pointing to the point where Rem's left arm would be.

Rem checked the time on her phone "Sure. We have plenty of time." She stood up, quickly putting her shoes on.

Treble nodded, standing up himself and putting his own shoes on. Just before they left, he quickly turned back to the apartment "MOM! ME AND REM ARE HEADNG OUT!"

"ALRIGHT! BUT I DON'T WANT YOU COMING BACK WITH A PREGNANT-" The door slammed before Treble's Mom could finish.

*Colorian Labs, half an hour later*

"So, we ran some tests on just about everything." Vybe walked into the room, holding a new arm for Rem "Your old one is completely busted, nothing we tried could fix it. So we just made you a new one." She held it out "We can just put it on now, if you want."

"Yeah, that would be great." Rem nodded, pulling up the short empty sleeve of her T-Shirt, showing a slot in a metal circle.

"Ok, get ready." Vybe knelt down, holding the arm to the slot "3, 2, 1...Go!" She forced the arm into the slot, sending a bolt of pain through Rem's nerves.

"GAAAH!" She screamed, taking deep breaths "God...the pain was bad enough first time."

"You were awake during that?" Vybe tilted her head, raising an eyebrow.

"...Was I supposed to be?"

"No. We'll have to sort that out." Vybe stood back up, putting two fingers on her chin and looking behind her. She quickly looked to Treble "So who's your friend?"

"Me? My name's Treble." Treble nodded, shaking Vybe's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Treble. My name's Vybe." Vybe nodded "Oh, right, I need to tell Rem something. I think it's best you wait outside, though."

Treble thought about that sentence for a few seconds, then stood up, waiting in the hallway.

"What is it?" Rem blinked as Vybe sat down, resting her arms on her legs.

"Have you...met Leonidas?" Vybe asked.

"Uh huh." Rem nodded.

"And you know he's your son?"

"Yep."

"Well, when you see him again, tell him he might have siblings."

Rem silently thought about those words. How did she even make the eggs? She got lost in thoughts, words swirling around her brain like a hurricane. Eventually, a smile cracked onto her face, soon turning to an all out grin "Treble! You can come back in, now!" She called over to the door. Treble poked his head through, then walked over to the two, standing next to the seat Rem was sitting in, hands in his pockets.

"What did you...talk about?" He shrugged lightly. Rem gestured for him to lean down to her level. He did as instructed, Rem then whispered the news in his ear, a look of shock appearing across his face "Y...You? And...me?"

"Yeah...I'm going to be honesty, Treble...I like you. Like, really like you." Rem smiled, a small blush appearing on her face.

"I'll leave you two alone." Vybe smiled, leaving the room. There was a long, awkward silence after she left, the other two just trying to think of something to say.

Eventually, Treble let out a sigh "I, um, well..." Rem suddenly sprung up, grabbing him and swinging him around, supporting him by his back.

"You don't need to say anything. I already know." She looked Treble directly in the eyes, grinning.

"Heh, shouldn't we do this somewhere else?" Treble smiled nervously, looking around.

"Oh, um, right. Guess I got a bit too excited." Rem let Treble go, he was giving her an odd look "Wha- No, we wouldn't have done THAT right here! I'm not that kind of girl!"


	16. The blade of red

_"They killed Mom!?" Jazz gasped, tears welling up in her eyes._

 _"Yeah...I'm sorry, Jazz..." Ix frowned, slumping onto a chair. Leonidas silently watched the conversation from across the room, a long sigh escaping him. Jazz suddenly screamed, quickly turning around and running. Callie came out of nowhere and grabbed her, Ix sprung up and began to try and pull her back "Jazz, you can't go out there!"_

 _"I'LL KILL THEM! I'LL KILL THEM ALL!" Jazz screamed at the top of her lungs, desperatly trying to escape from her aunt and father's grasp. Her efforts were in vain, only being pulled back slowly._

 _Then she started to glow._

 _Like Leonidas the day before, she was fading between gold and her normal silver, now on her knees, growling through clenched teeth, the floor being covered in silver ink around her, a humanoid appearance forcing itself through. The ground began to shake, knocking various objects off shelves, desks and tables. Jazz's head would sometimes snap up, her eyes turning pure white and newly formed tentacles turning gold. Outside, lightning was striking the ground around the bunker, leaving small fires. Jazz let out a terrifying scream, her irises turned teal and tentacles gently flapped around in the air. Like Leonidas, her body was like that of someone who looked around 15. She turned to face Callie and Ix, snarled, then held up her hand to the door, blasting it open. She flew outside, screaming again._

 _"JAZZ! NO!" Ix shouted, running out after her._

"Gah!" Leonidas gasped as he was once again snapped out of his day-mare. He was leaning against a metal wall, the sound of whirring machinery behind him. He turned around and saw large robots slowly piecing the black and purple jet back together like a puzzle. He sighed, wiping his forehead and leaning back against the wall, watching the machines do their work.

"Another one of those bad daydreams?" Vybe asked, walking up next to Leonidas, she was holding a large metallic scabbard in her hand, the handle of a katana sticking out.

"Yeah." Leonidas sighed, shaking his head. He then noticed the scabbard "What's that?"

"Oh, this?" Vybe held up the scabbard horizontally "It's for you."

Leonidas looked at the metal with slight suspicion, then took it "Thanks." He nodded slightly, carefully looking all over the metal in his hands. He shrugged, grabbing the handle and pulling the blade out. He could have sworn there was an explosive charge in there, as the blade forced itself out at lightning fast speeds. The metal was red, sparking with electricity. It looked like it could cut through anything with ease, even better than what he had used before.

"Hello, beautiful..." Leonidas grinned with a slight look of maliciousness, his voice had changed to become something more sinister.

"Just be careful with it, apparently it's got the soul of one of its previous owners in it." Vybe shrugged, putting her hands in her pockets.

"Got some big shoes to fill, then." Leonidas softly cacked, flicking the blade about in his hand "So...what's this naughty little girl's name?"

"It's called the Murusama, it's a high frequency blade, so it vibrates at a rate that it weakens the molecular bond on anything the sharpest parts touches, allowing it to cut through just about anything it touches. Vybe explained, making hand gestures as she talked.

Leonidas ignored her, staring intently at the blade. He sheathed it, putting the scabbard on his back "I am going to love this..."

Vybe began to back off, slightly creeped out "Well...I'll see you later." She turned, running to the exit of the hangar.

*Some other room*

"You know, Ix, there's nobody in here right now." Marie half smiled, putting a hand on Ix's shoulder.

Ix made eye contact with Marie "Oh really now?"

Marie nodded, moving closer to Ix "So how about" She forced Ix over, lying on top of him "We have a bit of fun?"

"You know we can't do THAT here, right?" Ix chuckled as Marie slowly leaned in closer.

"Oh I know that." Marie brought her face to his, deeply kissing him. Marie had her hands pressing down Ix's shoulders, preventing him from moving. Ix slowly wrapped his arms around her, half opening one of his eyes. A gentle moan came from Marie as she moved her hands from Ix's shoulders to the back of his neck, sliding up him slightly. A soft moan or whimper would occasionaly come from one of them as they kept the kiss going for a good minute, though, to them, it felt like forever. They eventually seperated, a thin trail of saliva connecting them, both gasping for air "Holy hell, Ix...you're good..."

"You're not too bad yourself." Ix looked deeply into Marie's eyes, gently smiling. They were about to go for it again, when a red blade pierced the wall, quickly being retracted.

"No blood...hopefully nobody was in there." Leonidas' voice was heard as he sheathed the blade, walking away from the wall he had pierced.

Marie rolled off Ix, wiping the trail that was hanging off her lip away, a slight look of shock on her face "Guess that cut that short."

Ix sat up, chuckling "Unforunately." He wiped his face with his sleeve, grinning "There's always tonight."

*The streets of Inkopolis, midnight*

Leonidas silently wandered through the streets, watching the last lights of the buildings slowly flicker out. He couldn't explain it, but he had an urge to find someone to test the sword on. Anyone would do, be it political figure or child, he didn't care. He needed to draw someone's blood. As he turned a corner, he saw something dart away. An evil leer appeared on him, quickly dashing after the shadowed figure. As he chased it, it would throw every trash can it passed at him, even a post box at one point. Seconds before one of them hit Leonidas, he drew his sword, expertly slashing through the trash can, it fell in two behind him.

"Come on! I just want to play!" Leonidas cackled, beginning to use everything he came across to gain speed.

A shriek was suddenly heard behind Leonidas. He turned his head slightly and saw another shadow dart from out a building, carrying two female Inklings.

"AHAHAHAHA! YES!" Leonidas laughed maliciously, drifting a full 180 degrees and sprinting straight at the shadow. He stabbed the sword into the floor, running with it creating a split in the ground. He shot through the air, slicing straight through the shadow. The pieces fell to the ground, releasing the Inklings from its grasp. Leonidas ignored their thanks, laughing like a maniac. The pair he had saved yelped again as they were grabbed by another shadow, being yanked into the darkness. Leonidas growled, flipping his sword in a circle close to his hand, forcing the blood off. He dashed off to where the sound of screaming came from, it kept getting louder. He then bumped into someone, someone tall. The shadow covering them was removed as they stepped into the light. It was a tall, slim Sea Lion.

"Oh, L-15. Fancy seeing you here." It said, sneering.

"Hold on." Leonidas tapped its chest with his scabbard "So that's how you tell the different genders apart. Alright, time to kill you."


	17. Mile High Fight

"Oh don't think it's going to be so easy, L-15. I'm one of the strongest in my unit." The Sea Lion said, folding their arms and grinning.

"I'd love to see how well I can slice ya, then." Leonidas hissed, sprinting towards him "Oh, and by the way!" He swung his sword, his opponent lept over it and slugged him "Oogh..." He stumbled back slightly, then lowered his hand from his jaw "What's your name?"

The shadowed Sea Lion stopped, turning around. The screams of more Inklings echoed through the streets, glass shattering "My name...I do not have one. But I am referred to as Zeek."

"Alright, then, Zeek. Let's see how you-" Zeek sprinted off into the inky blackness before Leonidas could finish "Hey! Get back here!" He dashed after him, letting out a low growl.

From the tops of the buildings, a lone figure watched. He was tall, for an Inkling. His left eye was covered by a bandage, jaw seemingly replaced with metal. His many silver tentacles gleamed in the moonlight. His body was seemingly entirely robotic, with the exception of some of his torso, legs and arms. Connected to the side of his hip was a metal scabbard, like the one Leonidas currently had attached to his back "So you have my sword..." His other eye became visible, it was an identical shape to Leonidas', but his iris was blue. He clenched his fist, staring intently at his spiked fingers "The bloodied hero." He sprinted into the darkness of the night.

"What are you even doing here!?" Leonidas growled, running like a ninja.

"To let you know would go against my directive." Zeek turned around, but kept running as more and more Inklings were pulled out of their homes "But I've always been a rebel. " He skidded to a halt, Leonidas quickly sliding to a stop himself "So I'll tell you anyway. You see, being isolated for so long has made us curious. Once we hit the required technology, we scanned the entire land above and were fascinated to discover your species thriving."

Leonidas shifted his right foot back, gripping his sword "I'm listening."

"But the problem is this: You have too much power, the land should be equal, that is what we believe." Zeek brought up his hands, palms facing the sky "But we like your genes, among other things. So what we're doing is taking as many of you as possible, in hopes to create-"

Leonidas had the sword to Zeek's throat in under a second "You're sick."

"Maybe, but it's all for the good of science." Zeek lept back "Now, if you can defeat me, we'll leave with what we have. But if I win, we suck this district dry, children and all."

"Heh...the more blood the better! HAHAHAHAHA!" Leonidas laughed his new maniacal laugh, charging for Zeek. He lept back, firing an energy blast at Leonidas. He flicked it away, swiping the blade about at lightning speeds as he slowly walked towards Zeek, the whole pavement and anything else the sword touched getting ruined, the new smile of insanity on his face. Zeek huffed and clicked his fingers. Sea Lions came from the buildings behind Leonidas, grabbing him. He flailed about wildly in their grip and soon broke free. He hissed at them, holding the blade out as he spun around at lightning speed, moving so fast as he sliced the creatures to pieces that a trail was left behind his blade. He turned back to Zeek, expertly removing the blood "You next?"

"I doubt that." Zeek punched Leonidas straight in the stomach, sending him hurtling away through the street. He let himself roll, flipping onto his feet "Did that hurt at all?"

Leonidas didn't reply, only bringing his sword up in front of his face.

"I guess it didn't do much. I'll try again, then!" Zeek shot at Leonidas again, holding out his fist. Leonidas frowned, kicking him in the chin as he got close, he flipped backwards, Leonidas quickly slicing down and cutting off his right arm "Son of a bitch, I was going to crush your organs with that hand!"

"The only thing getting crushed" Leonidas stomped Zeek down, placing his boot firmly on his head "Is your skull."

Zeek chuckled, screaming as a new arm burst out of where Leonidas' sword had cut through, covered in blood "Or yours." He quickly stood up, kicking Leonidas into the air.

"Bitch, please. I don't think we even have skulls." Leonidas quickly sheathed the sword, him and Zeek exchanging blows at a rapid pace as they rose into the sky "You know, I've killed every single one of you I've seen so far, one hundred fourty four in total, how would you like to be one hundred fourty five!?" He punched Zeek so hard a tooth flew out of his mouth. He stopped himself in the air, growling.

"You bastard..." Zeek spat, wiping the blood away from his chin, but it quickly came back.

"Ah...now that's some good blood." Leonidas cackled, quickly unsheathing his sword again "I'd LOVE to see more. Why not show me?"

"GYAAAAAH!" Zeek screamed, lunging for Leonidas. The two headbutted each other, sending a loud boom through the air. Zeek quickly pulled back, punching Leonidas in the chest. A hiss came from Leonidas as he glared straight into Zeek's soul, making him freeze. Leonidas quickly stabbed through him what seemed to be thousands of times, though the wounds quickly healed once Zeek recovered.

"Why won't you DIE!?" Leonidas hissed, shaking the blood off his blade once more.

Zeek laughed, tapping his forehead.

"Oh...so like that wolf dude, eh? Thanks for the-" Zeek's head was suddenly covered by a shining gold and white helmet "You've GOT to be kidding me...!" He sheathed his sword once more.

"What? You thought I wouldn't guard it like this? Expect some defense when you fight, L-15!" Zeek raised his fists, green energy crackling in them. He opened them, facing Leonidas "Now die!" A large wave of sparking energy blasted from Zeek's palms, hurtling towards Leonidas. He scowled, crossing his arms in an x in front of him. The wave hit him, burning him.

 _"Damnit...he's gonna fry me..."_ Leonidas growled in his head. He had a sudden brainwave, quickly yanking his sword out of the scabbard again. He slowly began to move towards Zeek, still holding up one arm. The pain burned, though he laughed it off as he got close, then made a large swipe with his sword, cutting straight through the front of Zeek's armour, leaving his chest exposed through a large hole. Zeek gasped as he quickly shot backwards, away from Leonidas' death stare and just out of range of another slash.

"Impressive, L-15, nobody's survived my Vapor Wave." Zeek said, raising his guard "But, that doesn't mean you'll survive the rest of this fight. Look at your injuries."

Leonidas observed himself, he was covered in bruises and burns, some of his skin even burned off "Heheheh...blood for blood." He cackled, though wincing slightly at the larger burns. He turned to the large tower not too far away, the jumbotron lighting up '1:00' it read.

"Gah!" Zeek gasped as he saw it "We're running out of time. I'll make this quick." He tapped his ear "How much have we got?"

"Well, sir, considering how long you've been fighting him, we've gotten everyone. Should we leave and wait for you?" A voice spoke in his ear.

"Yes, yes. I'll make sure that L-15 doesn't interfere again." Zeek punched Leonidas square in the face, followed by a huge barrage of kicks, headbutts and more punches. Leonidas fell back, holding his slashing arm. He was bleeding heavily, vision beginning to fade. It finally went as Zeek smashed his fist into face once more. Everything went black and the last thing he felt was him hitting the ground. Though he could still think.

 _"Crap...bleeding...really heavily...everything hurting...Brain...! Status report!"_

 _"Eeeehwaahda rest in peace."_ Leonidas' brain said in a slurred way.

 _"Goddamnit...that's not...good...at all..."_


	18. Up and down and all around

"Now onto our major news story: The entire populace of Plankton Street and many others have vanished overnight, leaving no traces. Recordings show what seemed to be ninjas of some kind breaking into their houses and grabbing them, asleep or awake. So far, nobody is believed to have been left, though two people were seen fighting above the streets according to residents of the Skrill Avenue. It is also unknown if either of the combatants are still around. However, a large puddle of red Ink was recently found." The News Reporter spoke on the TV, staring deeply into the camera.

 _"Not only did Leo just vanish last night, now they found red Ink? Oh man...this isn't good."_ Callie mumbled in her mind, leaning on the arm of the couch as she slowly ate the chocolate hoop cereal. Marie walked into the lounge, wearing a baggy shirt that exposed most of her shoulders, the end of the sleeves hanging of, a pair of green trousers and white sneakers, her hair around her neck like a scarf.

"Oh, there you are." Callie looked over to her cousin "Did you hear?"

"About what?" Marie asked, sitting next to Callie on the couch.

"Uh, about Plankton street and all that, of course!" Callie replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Well I just woke up AND it happened while I was-" Marie slapped her hand over her mouth before she could finish, then slowly lowered it "...asleep."

"Yeah, right! I heard all of it!" Callie groaned, giving Marie a small glare, then going back to her cereal.

Marie's whole body was covered by a blush, quickly curling up and hiding her face, a small whine coming from her.

A playful smile appeard on Callie's face. She put her bowl down and lept on Marie, tickling her relentlessly.

"Callie! Stop!" Marie laughed, scrambling around to get away from Callie's lightning fast fingers.

"Did ya move around this much last night?!" Callie cackled, still on top of her cousin, being supported by her legs "Or was that Ix?"

Marie was unable to answer, laughing uncontrollably, desperatly trying to get Callie off of her. Eventually, she stopped her assault and sat back on her spot on the couch, Marie gasping for breath "You...son of a bitch, Callie." She giggled.

"What's with all the noise?" Ix moaned as he stepped in, rubbing one of his eyes with his arm. He wore his usual outfit of a red and white jersey, traditional shorts and red hi-horses. He looked like he would just fall down and go back to sleep any second "I just wanted five more minutes of sleep."

"If you're so tired, how did you get changed?" Callie smirked.

Ix made direct eye contact with Callie, both quiet for a few seconds. He broke it and sat next to Marie, lazily resting his head on her shoulder "Did I say-" Marie slapped her hand over his mouth before he could get the rest of the sentence out _"Oh, right."_ Marie slowly removed her hand, letting Ix fade between awake and asleep.

"You must have really worn him out." Callie beamed, glancing at the exhausted Ix "How rough are ya?"

"J-Just shut up." Marie blushed again, looking away from her cousin.

Callie's phone buzzed on the sofa. She picked it up and checked what she had recieved. It was a text from someone named J.

'I want to see you at Flounder Heights at 1200, got it?' It read.

"What was that?" Marie asked, still looking away.

"I have to go see someone. Let Rem know she's covering the news with Ix for us." Callie said, pointing to Ix as she walked to her bedroom.

"Ix..." Marie said softly, shaking Ix gently.

Ix moaned, rubbing his eyes with his index fingers and his thumb "Yeah...?"

"You're filling in for us again." Marie stroked his head, slowly pushing him up.

"Alright." Ix stood up, stretching as he yawned "I'll let Sis know..." He took out his phone, putting his free arm in the sleeve of his jersey.

*Treble's apartment*

Rem lay gasping on the bed, tongue hanging out. She panted heavily as she stared at the three orbs in front of her, one red, one orange and one pink. She let her head fall back, closing her eyes _"It's...finally over."_

Treble was by her side, holding her hand "Well, I guess congratulations to us, eh?"

Rem looked to her boyfriend, still panting. She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him close, a furious look on her face. It quickly faded as she kissed him, a soft moan coming from both of them. She pulled away as her phone rang, quickly picking it up.

"Hey, Sis." Ix's voice came from the phone.

"Ha, Ix! How's it going?" Rem's face lit up as she heard her brother's voice.

"Heh, I'm doing alright. Listen, get your stuff together, we're doing the news again." Ix said, quickly checking his watch.

A small look of dissapointment came to Rem, but she quickly shook it off "Alright! I'll see you there!" She grinned "See ya later."

"See ya." Ix smiled, hanging up.

Rem turned to Treble "Looks like we won't be able to spend today as planned. Just, uh, take the eggs and put them in a tank. Love you." Rem ran out of the apartment, quickly adjusting her clothes.

Treble smiled, looking to the eggs "Come on, you three." He gently picked up the eggs, hiding them in his pockets.

"TREBLE! WHAT WAS ALL THAT SCREAMING!?" His mother screamed from across the apartment.

"Oh, no..." Treble went white with shock.

*Flounder Heights 1201*

Callie finally arrived at the top of the stairs, looking around the area for the sender of the text, her tentacles flapping gently in the wind. She finally spotted him standing next to the purple striped wind sock, his metallic body gleaming in the sunlight "Hey! Are you J!?" She shouted, parkouring over to the platform.

"You're late." J said, turning round. There was a large black visor covering his face, his mouth only visible in the small gap between the visor and his metal jaw.

"By just a minute. And I want to make this quick, I'm scared of heights." Callie said firmly, hands on her hips.

J didn't move, his visor parting and sliding to the side of his face, showing his one blue eye and the black band over his eye "Hello, Callie."

"Jack...?" Callie said quietly, slowly stepping closer to him "Is that really you?"

Jack nodded silently "It's been a long time."


	19. Dazzling Dreams

"Hold on to your tentacles..." Rem smiled, looking directly into the camera.

"It's Inkopolis News Time!" Ix continued the sentence. Despite this being about the tenth time him and Rem have done this, he was still a bit nervous.

"Alright, let's see the current regular battle stages!" Rem said cheerfully as a picture of Arowana Mall "So, Ix, wanna go to Arowana after work?"

"...If that was a pun, Sis." Ix groaned, giving a small eye roll as the screen changed to Walleye Warehouse _"Here it comes..."_

"Walleeeeeeye!" Rem said in a robotic voice, desperatly trying to contain her laughter. Ix's only response was a loud, long, groan.

"Now, onto the Ranked Battle Stages!" Rem grinned as the screen switched to an orange background, small triangles floating upwards. The first stage was Camp Triggerfish "So I heard this place really triggers a certain group of people."

"You use Anglr, too, don't you? I'm pretty sure you're triggered so hard." Ix chuckled as his sister gave him a mean look, then smiling back at the camera as the picture changed to Port Mackrel.

"So Ix, why not give us a few tips for this stage?" Rem asked, Ix silently thinking it over for a second.

"Can't be bothered, go look it up online or something, everyone." He sneered into the camera as the final cut happened.

"That's everything for today!" Rem smiled.

"Stay Fresh!" The siblings announced in unison, striking their own unique pose of swiping their fists diagonally downwards, raising the other upwards and doing what Callie and Marie do for their own pose. The small red light on the camera in front of them blinked, then turned off, the 'ON AIR' light near the door turning off. The siblings walked over to the table, sitting down in their respective seats.

"You know, what we need" Ix took a brief sip of a drink that was waiting for him "Is our own costume."

"I know, Ix, I know. But that's probably what's in the boxes Callie put on the walls." Rem shrugged, resting her elbows on the table.

Ix shrugged, leaning back in his chair, tilting his head back and putting a book over his eyes "Wake me when the next set is up."

Rem looked around the studio, seeing that there was only one person watching them, a fan from the window. She waved, the young girl grinning from ear to ear and waving back, then running back down to the main part of the plaza. Rem smiled, then stood up and left the studio, heading for the back alley.

"Mornin' luv." Spyke said quietly, holding out two traditional aprons "Just like you asked."

"Thanks, Spyke." Rem smiled, handing Spyke a note for 7,500 Coins.

"Any time, luv. Good luck and all with your work." Spyke took the note, nodding.

"Heh, thanks." Rem headed out of the alley and back up to the studio, gently placing one of them across Ix's legs, the apron turning the same royal blue as his hair. She set the other across the back of her chair and sat down, putting her headphones in her ears, the sound of Callie and Marie's latest songs drifting into her head, eventually getting her lost in thought.

*Rem's Imgination*

The crowd was cheering for them, the lavender lights reflecting off their shining costumes, both gasping for breath in their signature pose with the microphones held tightly in their lowered hands. The rush was incredible, it would probably never come again. Rem wished the feeling would never leave, wanting this moment to last forever. The crowd began chanting for more, getting louder and louder. The siblings left their pose, looking over to Callie and Marie who were standing in the small gap to the left of the stage. Callie grinned, grabbing two microphones in one hand and Marie's wrist in the other, dashing onto the stage, the crowd erupting.

*The Real World*

"Rem...C'mon Sis, we need to do the next show." Ix gently shook his sister by the shoulder, though she didn't respond, mumbling a song _"Looks like I'm going solo."_ He ran onto the stage, adjusting his new apron.

"WAH!" Rem yelped, quickly dashing onto the stage, tripping as she started her sprint "I'm here! I'm here!"

"And we're on air in 3, 2, 1..."

*Somewhere*

Leonidas lay on a cold steel floor, eyes closed. The sound of horrid screaming filling his ears. A low groan came from him as he opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling. He pushed himself up and saw he was in a long corridor, seemingly getting more futuristic as he it went along. Whatever this screaming was, it was disturbing. As he stood up, he went to rub his face, then found the entirety of the lower half of his face was missing, completely gone. But there was no blood, even when he felt all around where it should be. As he inspected his face, he began to walk down the corridor, the screaming only getting louder. The red haired Inkling looked to his left and saw something horrible. Something so horrible this story would have to go to an M rating if I chose to tell you what he saw. Everything went dark, then he found himself back at the start of the corridor, finding himself walking back down it. Now looking to his right, he saw some Inklings. But their skin was a shining grey, their eyes pure black. One of them turned to face Leonidas, lunging for him and breaking the glass keeping them seperate. Leonidas tried to draw his sword, but was unable to. The mysterious Inkling hit him directly in the chest, sending him straight into a wall.

Leonidas groaned, lowing the hand that had been where his mouth was. He shot back up, waiting for his opponent to make their move. They didn't do anything, only glaring directly into his eyes. Leonidas dashed towards his foe, holding out his fist. He hit his opponent straight in the face, though his hand immediatly bounced off, hitting him in the face _"What the hell!? What is this thing made of!?"_ He spat in his mind, getting to his feet once more. His opponent went for another punch. A split second before it hit, there was an incredible flash of light and Leonidas found himself back on cold metal, now staring up at a pure white ceiling. As the blur in his vision faded, he saw Trinity standing next to him, staring directly at him with her cold eyes.

"Good, you're awake." She said "You're lucky I found you, you would probably be dead right now."

"Yeah, right." Leonidas sat up, shaking his head "Where even am I?"

"Back at the lab." Trinity crossed her arms beneath her breasts "What were you even doing lying in the middle of the street?"

Leonidas bent over slightly, putting hand on his cold, metal chin _"Wait...metal?"_ He looked at Trinity "You got a mirror?"

Wordlessly, Trinity gave him a hand mirror. Leonidas stared at what was in place of his regular lower face. A metal jaw. It looked like it could go through anything "Surprised?"

Leonidas didn't answer, just staring at the metal _"If I wasn't enough of a monster already..."_ His hand began to shake, soon dropping the mirror. It shattered on the ground, the shards scattering.

"Yo, you alright?" Trinity waved her hand in front of Leonidas' face, he fainted only seconds later.


	20. A New Threat

Leonidas slowly opened his eyes, groaning. He checked his jaw, rubbing it to check for the metal. Yep, still there. He sighed, rubbing his forehead _"What even happened in that fight?"_ He thought, looking around the room he was in. Back in the apartment. He sat up, seeing if there was anyone else in there with him. There seemed to be no one there, but then he heard light breathing "So, who are ya?" Leonidas said, not turning around. Someone behind him gasped and lept back when they heard him "You heard me. What's your name?" Whoever was behind him didn't say anything, just staying completely silent. Leonidas sighed, throwing his head back to face them. Behind him was the pink haired girl he had seen hiding behind the curtains the other day, a large red bow still on the back of her head "Oh, it's...you. Whoever you are."

"You were making a lot of moaning noises." The girl said, lowering her hands from her chest "And, well, it sounded like you were in some sort of fight."

Leonidas thought over those words for a few seconds. He had always been loud at night according to Jazz, but he always presumed that was just her saying it. He grunted, rolling his eyes "And?"

"Well you weren't having some sort of nightmare, were you?" The girl asked, tilting her head slightly. Leonidas huffed, resting his elbow on the arm of the couch and his head on his fist "Um, well?"

"That's just me...I guess." Leonidas muttered the last part, the girl then sat down next to him _"Just leave me alone, damnit...I need to get outta here."_

"Not sure if I exactly got your-"

"Leonidas."

"Oh, I see. It's a nice name. My name's Hanako."

Leonidas looked away, keeping quiet. He took a deep breath "Hanako...I'll remember that." There was a slightly awkward silence between the two as they both thought of something to say, but nothing ever came up.

Hanako took a quick breath "So, you're from the future?"

"...Yeah? What of it?"

"What's it like?"

Leonidas paused, slightly shocked at the question "You sure you want to know?"

"Why? Is it bad?"

"It's a nightmare. Everything's been destroyed, there's less than a hundred Inklings and Octarians left...those damn humans ruined everything, taking it all for themselves. It's all just a wasteland, flowers don't grow, the sun never shines. It's just..." Leonidas buried his face in his hands "Just hell on Earth."

"Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that. Life must be tough." Hanako gently put a hand on the red haired boy's shoulder, he didn't protest, actually finding it rather calming.

"I've lost so many friends...to those vicious-heartless...b-bastards!" Leonidas' head slipped off his hand, landing down on his upper arm. He shook his head, standing up "Sorry...I just need some air." He opened the door, stepping out onto the small balcony and putting his arms on the railing, staring at the distant Inkopolis tower. Hanako didn't move from her seat while he just stood there, staring the tower down.

*Moray Heights*

"You've always said such interesting things, Callie!" Jack yelled, swinging his sword in front of the celebrity. She lept back, landing on her hands then immediatly flipping onto her feet "I'm sure you've got lots of friends always willing to help you."

"Honestly, yeah!" Callie yelled, lunging for Jack and punching his chest, causing him to stumble and allow her to unleash a deadly combo of delivering several swift kicks and slamming him downwards. His intense mechanical weight caused him to shoot down through the buildng, landing on the ground floor with a loud bang, creating a small crater "You actually already know two of them!" Callie blasted down through the holes left behind, landing straight on Jack.

"Oh, really?" Jack grabbed Callie's foot, throwing her through the window and flying after her, kicking her skyward. They got into a fistfight, the sounds of their shouting audible through the streets below them "And who are they?"

"Remember Rem and Ix?" Callie caught a punch, throwing Jack above her, grabbing his leg and spinning him around, then relasing him and sending him flying away from her, she flew after him, kicking him down "They're living legends, Jack!"

"Pfft, you think I would forget those two?" Jack expertly landed, waiting for Callie to come blitzing down towards him. She did, landing in front of him, the two blasting through the streets as they exchanged blows at lightning fast speeds "And you certainly haven't lost your feistiness!" He quickly drew his shining silver sword, though it was immediatly knocked out of his grasp, flying skyward. As he watched it sail away, Callie grabbed his throat, spinning him round and throwing him into the ground, catching the sword as it fell and pointing it at Jack's throat.

"I win." She said between heavy breaths, lowering the sword from Jack's neck, stepping off him and holding out a hand, which Jack quickly took, standing up.

"How did you not fall over? I weigh, like, a ton." Jack chuckled as his sword was returned, sheathing it.

"Hey, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm weak!" Callie laughed, patting Jack on the back "You need a drink?"

"Is Fizzink still around?" Jack's visor parted, showing the black band around one of his eyes and the revealed blue eye.

"Of course it is, dummy!" Callie laughed, slapping Jack's back again "Ow..."

"And you still forget almost my entire body is metal." Jack laughed, beginning to walk down the street with Callie.

"Yeah, whatever." Callie rolled her eyes, putting her hands in her pockets _"Wonder what Marie's up to."_

*The Forest Clearing*

"Agh!" Marie slammed into the cold, hard rocks, leaving a small crack in them. She opened one eye, seeing the group of grey, pure black eyed Inklings advancing towards her, everything in the clearing destroyed...Even that one spot near the pool where she and Ix had their first kiss. She had marked it, too. She'd never felt so hurt in her whole life when they smudged it out. Painfully, she stood back up, holding a bruised arm, looking up to the shadows at the top of the waterfall "Why...why won't you help me!? DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE!?"

The shadows watching her didn't answer only staring directly at her. A grey Inkling grabbed Marie by the throat, holding it tightly. Marie tried to scream, but all that came out was a gagging noise.

 _"Somebody...help me..."_

*Inkopolis Plaza*

Ix was suddenly struck by an un-explainable feeling, something like shock. He hastily yanked the apron off, quickly grabbing his jacket and throwing it on.

"Ix! Where are you-!?" The door to the studio slammed before Rem could finish. She was left to stare at the door in confusion "...What the heck just happened?" She wondered aloud.

Ix ran out of the building, shooting into the sky _"Hold on, Marie! I'm coming!"_

 **Heh...Giggidy.**


	21. Scarlet

The small space in the forest soon came into view, Ix increasing his flying speed. He slammed into the clearing, kicking up dust. He was absoultely horrified at what he saw when he landed, the clearing was in ruins. The waterfall had almost collapsed, the water was now splashing off the fallen rocks. There were several fallen trees around the clearing, some in splinters. As Ix looked at the pool, he saw smudged dirt. He knew that spot, the spot were Ix and Marie had their first kiss. As he gasped, he heard a gagging noise to his right. He spun to it, seeing a grey inkling with red hair holding Marie up by her throat; she was barely moving.

"Hello, Ix." It spoke, turning around to face him. Their eyes weren't like the others, instead being yellow with pure red irises. He tightened his grip on Marie, a loud but gagged scream came from her "Why are you here?"

Ix shook when Marie painfully opened one eye, a pleading look on her face.

"Help..." She mouthed, her eyes slowly closing.

Ix grinded his teeth, glaring at the strange Inkling "Let her go."

"Okay." The Inkling smirked, moving Marie above the pool. She let out another gagged yell as the water hit her legs, stinging her "She takes a while to choke - and my arm's getting tired. Maybe I should just let her go."

"Don't do it..." Ix slowly shook his head, sub-conciously stepping back "Please..."

"But I don't think it would be nice to just kill her like this. So what if I did this?" The Inkling spun around several hundred times, throwing Marie with so much force she ripped through several trees before stopping, all crushing her.

"Ah...How dare you!? THAT'S MY MARIEEEEE!" Ix let out an incredible primal scream as his hair turned a deep purple, two white stripes going along his tentacles. Golden bands appeared on his wrists, the screaming only getting worse. Ix lowered his head, death in his now crimson eyes  
"YOU BASATAAAARD!" He roared as he blasted towards the grey Inkling, throwing a mighty punch with all his force into his face. The grey Inkling was sent sliding through the ground, hitting a tree. Ix then immediatly turned, wiping out the other grey Inklings with one purple energy blast each. He snapped back to the red haired one, making his way towards him. There was a look of pure and utter hatred so intense that anyone would be scared of him. With another incredible scream, he threw his victim into the air, speeding after him and striking him several hundred times at lightning fast speed, constantly teleporting to a different angle for each pass. With another yell, he kicked the Inkling so hard they crashed through several hundred trees, leaving a large dirt cloud as they slammed into the ground and slid along, knocking over every single tree. Ix immediatly flew after them, grabbing them by their tentacle and throwing them skyward again, blasting them with a huge beam of purple fire. It exploded, causing the leaves to be ripped off of several trees close to the explosion.

Ix was breathing heavily as the smoke parted, the Inkling remained there, but had clearly sustained injuries "Do you want to know who were are?"

Ix lowered his hands, floating backwards as the Inkling came down to his level.

"We're Sea Lions. But...not at the same time. See, we're Sealings, the strongest breed possible. See, my original body was just Sea Lion, but I decided to have it grafted over to one of these new bodies. It's perfect for my needs. My name...Danja, ruler of the Lions of the Sea!" Danja laughed, throwing his head back.

Ix didn't say anything, only yelling as he punched Danja in the stomach "You hurt Marie...I don't care who you are or what you do...but if you hurt Marie, then god help you."

"You're really attached to her, aren't you?" Danja smirked, folding his arms.

Ix didn't answer, only reaching up to Danja's neck and snapping it. With several disgusting cracks, it returned to it's original position. Danja frowned, kicking Ix in the gut. He bent over, saliva shooting from his mouth. He held his stomach, shaking and making wheezing noises. Danja moved to his side, putting his hands together and slamming them onto Ix's back. He crashed into the ground, creating a large crater. Danja smirked, putting his palms facing where Ix had crashed, a large ball of red energy appearing in front of them.

"Die!" He yelled, launching the sphere towards the crater. It connected, causing another huge explosion.

*Inkopolis*

Leonidas was still on the balcony, staring out into space. Hanako had moved to sit at the small table on the balcony, but the red haired Inkling didn't respond at all. Hanako sighed, looking at a clock back inside, it read 1224. Another sigh left Hanako. She stood up, walking up next to Leonidas "Leonidas?" The red haired Inkling didn't respond, not even blinking. Hanako waved her hand in front of his face, finally getting a reaction of him shaking his head.

"What?" He looked at her like nothing had happened.

"You stared into space like that for a while, is everything ok?" Hanako gave him a concerned look, tilting her head slightly.

"...I'm fine." The lies in his voice were easy to detect.

"No, you're not. Just tell me what's troubling you." Hanako said softly, staring directly into Leonidas' eyes. Normally, no look would get him to spill information, but this one, despite not even being intimidating, terrified him like nothing had ever done before.

It took a few seconds before he answered, only rubbing his hand over the cursed metal jaw, humming quietly "I'm honestly scared of what's to come."

"You? Scared? Leonidas, I saw that look in your eyes when you first saw me, that was a look of determination." Hanako put her hands together, keeping eye her eyes boring into Leonidas' soul.

Leonidas was silent again for a while, trying to break eye contact but failing every time "Hanako..." He couldn't bring up the words for an answer, his mind drawing a blank after her name.

"Are you two on a date or something?" Vybe was now leaning against the balcony door, a suggestive smile on her face.

"M-Mom!" Hanako whined, letting her arms drop to her sides.

Leonidas managed to block out what the two females were talking about, and quite loudly may I add, instead looking to the large body of water between Octo Valley and Inkopolis _"Derik...I know you're in there."_


	22. The Cyborg and The Demon

"What?" Danja snarled as he saw that Ix was still fully intact, lying on the ground. Beaten, but alive. Grey electricity began crackling in the air beside him; a platinum haired Inkling with a cyborg body appearing after a few seconds of the sparking.

"Who're you?" Danja scowled as he dropped down to the ground, the Inkling facing away from him. He turned to face Danja, a blank expression on his face.

"Heheh...name's Jack." A smirk crept onto Jack's face, slowly drawing his silver sword from his scabbard, holding it beside his head.

"You wanna fight?" Danja scowled, flicking his hands, swirling dark energy appearing in them. Jack's only answer was shifting his foot slightly, the sword being pushed slightly forward "Alright." Danja put his hands together, a battleaxe of darkness bursting from between them "Let's play!"

With a loud yell, they both charged at each other. A loud clang echoed through the forest as the weapons collided, Danja putting all his might into forcing the Battleaxe down on Jack, who held both the handle and blade of his sword to counter his foe's forceful pushes. He swiped his sword away and caught the Battleaxe as it came down on him, lifting Danja up by the large weapon and throwing him over his shoulder. Danja landed on his back with an oomph, immediatly rolling back over and running at Jack while swinging his Battleaxe madly. Just as a swing was about to connect, Jack's gleaming sword was now being held close to the cyborg's back, another loud clang resonating through the forest. Danja swung his Battleaxe over and over, each blow would constantly get blocked.

"Just die already!" Danja bellowed, increasing the speed of his swings. Jack didn't answer once more, only increasing the speed of his blocks. With another loud roar, Danja swung his Battleaxe with so much force that the ground buckled when it made contact with the sword. Jack turned, still holding the blade. He removed it from under the large axe, turning the side that had been struck several times to him. He scowled.

"Igneous is gonna kill me..." He frowned, showing the marks on the blade. With a furious yell, he slashed the sword, cutting the Battleaxe clean in two, though it Danja quickly lept back and regenerated it into a huge hammer.

Ix whimpered as he opened his eyes, his vision a blur. He could see two figures fighting nearby, both wielding incredible weapons. He rolled over slightly, forcing himself to stand up. He could only barely stand, one arm dropped in front of him, legs bent and one eye closed. Upon recognizing Danja, his anger boiled over once more. The fight came to a stand-still as purple flames burst from Ix, his eyes glowing red "GYAAA!" He screamed as he blasted towards Danja, punching him with enough force to cause every tree he hit to turn to splinters.

 _"Whoa...Ix still has some-"_ Jack watched as the 17 year old fell over _"...I spoke too soon."_ His thoughts were interrupted by Danja flying back out from the trees, swinging his incredible hammer at him. He quickly leant back, watching the hammer sail above his face. He returned to his upright position, then jumped over another swing. Electricity cracked at his feet as he shot at Danja, kicking him down. He landed on his chest, delivering stomps in rapid succession. Danja grabbed Jack's foot as it came down once more, throwing him over. He created another more menacing hammer, snarling at Jack as he stood back up. Jack smirked, pointing the tip of his sword to Danja. They ran towards each other again, weapons clashing, they glared into each other's soul, dissapearing from the ground and appearing again several feet off the ground, the sound of the metal clashing rapidly was heard all through the forest. Danja finally managed to land a strong hit on Jack. The fight stopped briefly as Jack inspected where the hammer had slammed onto his shoulder. It had left a large dent.

"You're going to regret that." He snarled, his sword swinging so fast it became a blur. Danja grabbed the sword, death in his eyes.

"Looks like I should take you more seriously, then." He spat, throwing the blade down. Jack hit the floor hard, creating an imprint of his body. He sprung back up, not holding the sword, grabbing the hammer as it came down and punching with his free arm at an incredible speed. As Danja doubled over from a strong blow to his stomach, Jack quickly yanked his arm free, grabbing his sword and slashing across Danja's chest, cutting him open and slicing the hammer in two. Jack turned, sheathing his sword as he walked towards Ix, slowly lifting his head up.

Ix groaned as he opened his eyes once more, looking to the figure who stood above him "Who?"

"Hello, son."

*Callie and Marie's house*

"WHOA, WAIT, WHAT!?" Callie screamed as she jumped back "You two!? EGGS!?"

Rem nodded, a slight blush on her face "Yeah, three. Leonidas, Tiki and Star." She gestured to the lunchbox sized tank attached to Treble's belt, the three eggs just about visible.

Callie said something along the lines of "Oh my god, this is amazing! We need to let everyone know!" The bolted out of the room, leaving Rem and Treble to stand there awkwardly.

"Also...my Mum kicked me out." Treble smiled nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh. Uh, Callie!?" Rem called to the idol.

"Yeah!?" She called back.

"Treble's Mom kicked him out of his home! Can he stay here!?"

"Yeah, sure! But you're responsible for him!"

The couple shared a laugh at that comment "You're lucky I have a double bed."


	23. Blast from the Past

"Son...?" Ix groaned, staring at the cyborg that was unknowingly pinning him down by simply just having one hand on his shoulder. Ix closed his eyes, breathing heavily as he went through his brain, trying to find this person who was calling him his son. Then he found him.

*16 Years Ago*

"Moom!" A young Rem called. Instead of the young Maria coming through the door to the silbings' bedroom, a tall male with many platinum tentacles appeared, his right arm was black metal and his fingers were sharp.

"What's wrong, Rem?" He asked the lime baby squid, crouching down to as close to her level as he could.

"Ngyes!" Ix called out, jumping up and down at a small table near the corner of the room, trying to reach the remote that was in the center.

"Oh, you two wanna watch TV?" The tall Inkling smiled, walking over and gently grabbing the remote with his left hand, facing the small TV in the other corner of the room. Rem and Ix immediatly ran over to it, sitting down in front of it and turning their heads to face their father.

A loud "Ngyes!" came from Ix. The platinum haired Inkling laughed, turning the TV on and sitting down behind the two, a loud clunk sounding as he did, but his children didn't notice, too absorbed in the 'Thunderbirds' show they were watching.

"Da?" Rem eventually spoke.

"Yes, Rem?"

"What your name? I forget." Rem said shyly, putting her hands together.

He laughed, putting a finger on Rem's tiny shoulder "It's Jack, sweety."

Rem nodded, turning back to the TV and getting absorbed in the show once more. Jack had always wondered why his slightly raspy, close to scary for children, voice never scared either of them. He shrugged, assuming it was just because they were his kids, and they loved him.

"How's my terrible trio doing?" Came Maria's soothing, melodic voice from the doorway. Rem and Ix clearly acknowledged her being there, but didn't turn around. Jack patted the spot on the floor next to him, Maria quickly walking over and sitting down next to him "Sorry I'm late home, hun. Callie wanted to talk to me."

"About what?" Jack reduced his voice to a whisper. Rem would go crazy if she heard the slightest mention of the up and coming pop stars.

"Well, she knows our two have trouble sleeping at times, so she and Marie are making a song for each of them." Maria said quietly, watching the siblings stare intently at the screen.

"Really? Heh, that's sweet." Jack responded "How's everyone at your work doing?"

"Igneous was freaking out when my legs started malfunctioning." Came the response.

"Malfunctioning?"

"Oh, it wasn't much. The right one started to cease working and then the left one would start flailing. Turned out there was a butterfly in there." Jack laughed, Maria letting out a soft giggle.

*Present Day*

Ix was brought out of his memories by Jack shaking him gently "You alright? You conked out there for a sec."

"Dad..." Ix said quietly. The Cyborg removed his hand from Ix's shoulder, helping him stand up "Where...were you...?"

"Heh...Cryogenically Frozen under an apartment block. How're Rem and Maria-" Jack's question was cut short by a tear falling from Ix's eye "Ix? What's wrong?"

"Mum...Mum's dead."

That hit Jack like a freight train "Oh..."

"I'm sorry, Dad..."

"It's not your fault, Ix." Marie's weak voice came from behind them. They turned around to see the bruised and scratched girl, holding her side as she stood "She fought for you. You and Rem made sure her sacrifice was never in vain."

Ix couldn't answer, only staring at the ground.

Jack was silent. But eventually, a smile formed on his metallic face "She was always so protective of you. I'm sure she's proud."

"She is...Jack..." Marie slowly closed her eyes, falling to the ground with a moan.

Ix slowly made his way to her, then lost conciousness too, falling on top of her.

Jack scratched the back of his head, looking at the two awkwardly "I should probably get them to Igneous."

*Underground Base, several minutes later*

Ty looked up from his workbench as the elevator dinged, the doors slid open and saw a cyborg Inkling step out "Hey!" He immediatly stood up "Peace Walker! Intruder!"

The aforementined robot leapt out of it's hangar, stopping right in front of Jack and staring down at him "Target Identified: Jack Altezio. Welcome back, sir. It's been a long time."

"Indeed it has, Peace Walker." Jack nodded as the robot returned to where it came from "Sup, Igneous!?" He called to Ty.

Ty didn't answer, completely shocked. He stepped back slightly as Jack slowly approached, bumping into the workbench behind him "Who are you...?"

Upon closer inspection, Jack realised this wasn't Igneous "Oh hey, you're not Igneous. Who are you?"

"Um...Peace Walker! Who is this!?" Ty called out.

"This is Jack Altezio. He is also known as Raider." Came the response.

"Raider...? R-Raider!?" Ty yelped, jumping slightly.

"Yeah, that's my code-name." Jack nodded.

"Dad mentioned a 'Jack'a few times. Could you be this Jack he was talking about?" Ty pointed weakly to Jack.

"Um, yeah. Are you...Ty?"

Ty nodded "Yeah, that's me." He then remembered Jack was carrying the unconcious Ix and Marie "You want me to use the Beacon, don't you?"

Jack nodded.

"Alright, stand back."

*Ty and Vybe's apartment*

"Knowing you, you have somewhere to be right now. Don't you?" Hanako asked. Her and Leonidas were still on the balcony, both looking out over the city.

"For once, no. I don't." Leonidas responded, briefly looking over to her. His heart began to race the second he looked at her, quickly looking back to the city, being slightly uncomfortable with the odd new feeling.

"Oh." Hanako put her chin on her hands. She took a brief glance over to him, briefly experiencing the same feeling Leonidas just had, quickly looking back to the rooftops "Hey, Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"What was that golden hair the other day?"

"Oh...you heard about it." Leonidas took a quick breath, putting his hands in the pockets of his hoodie "It's my ability. I can't really explain it, but it's like mother's Rage, but more controllable."

"I think the golden hair suits you." Hanako said quickly, looking away.

Leonidas smiled "Thanks."


	24. The start of a War

Danja hissed as he stood up, his organs slowly going back inside his body, making disgusting noises as they did. He stood upright, his chest closing, now looking as good as new "Damn machine. I guess I'll just have to take the emeralds by force!" He flew out of the forest, diving into the sea "Get the army ready to mobilise. We have a city to storm. Oh, and activate the pod. We'll need Derik for this."

*Inkopolis*

"Gah!" Inkler gasped as his eyes slammed open, a terrible sense of dread covering him.

"What's wrong, squirt?" Inkward immediatly turned to his younger brother "Didja have another day-mare?"

"I...I don't know. But I don't think something good is about to happen! We gotta tell Rem and Ix!" Inkler sprung up, running to the door.

"Inkler! Wait!" Inkala called out. But it was too late - Inkler had slammed the door and was now tearing through the streets.

"Come on, come on..." Inkler growled as he sprinted along the path, knocking anyone who came his way down.

"Watch where you're going!" Was often one of the many things shouted at him, but he ignored them.

*Callie and Marie's house*

"I'm comin'! I'm comin'!" Callie shouted to the door as she ran down the stairs, quickly putting on her jumper. She opened it and was met with Ix and Marie, the sound of electric sprinting fading into the distance "Oh, you're back. Where did you even go?"

"Long story, Callie." Marie replied, stepping into the house and lazily sitting on the couch, then her attention was immediatly caught by the small ink tank on the coffee table "What? Whose are these?"

"Mine." Rem said, leaning in the doorway "Mine and Treble's."

Marie fell silent, Ix standing at the opposite side of the room, his jaw dropped "You can't be serious."

Treble appeared from behind Rem, picking up the Tank, the three eggs now visible "See the red one?"

"Yeah."

"That's our Leo." Treble smiled, pointing to the egg.

Ix lept over to his sister, knocking her over as he collided with her, Rem hitting the floor with a slight thud, Ix pinning her down, a huge grin on his face "Heh, I meant to hug you. Um, congrats, by the way."

"Thanks, Ix." Rem smiled lightly, giving her brother a brief hug, playfully pushing him off her and standing up.

"Does Leonidas know?" Marie tilted her head slightly.

"Um, no, I don't think so."

"Speaking of Leo, we haven't heard anything from him recently. Do you think he's ok?" Callie crossed her arms, eyebrow raised slightly "Knowing him, he might have gone to find the Sea Lions."

"I heard from Ty that Vybe said he and Hanako went on a date." Marie smirked, putting her hand close to her mouth.

"Ah, sweet." Treble said, sitting on the arm of the couch. There was a sudden loud knocking, Callie sprinting to the door and swinging it open, Inkler was gasping for air.

"Inkler? What's up?"

"Hah...Something's gonna...attack...don't know what...but we need to get ready..." Inkler gasped, hands on his knees.

Ix was hit by an onslaught of fear, knowing what was going to happen "Aw, crap!"

"What?" Inkler looked over to him.

"Sea Lions! The Sea Lions are going to attack Inkopolis!" Ix shouted, beginning to shiver.

"Ix! Calm down!" Rem yelled, grabbing Ix's shoulders "Now are you absoloutley sure it's the Sea Lions?"

"Sis, once you've made an unhealthy amount of forceful physical contact with a species, you know when they're coming."

*The streets of Inkopolis*

"What? You're getting an incredible energy readings from the sea on all sides?" Jack questioned, holding two fingers to his ear "Sure, I'll go check it out." He lowered his hand, sprinting along the buildings, reaching the roofs, leaping over them _"Incredible energy readings...I don't think this is good."_

Jack grinded to a halt as he reached the pier, stopping at a telescope. He put his visor over his eyes, scanning for a 2p coin. He found one hidden in the bushes, running over and reaching into the plant, grabbing around for it. He eventually picked it up, nodding with a small grin as he examined it in the sunlight. He turn to ran for the telescope once more, but a couple passed in front of him. He quickly stopped, letting them pass. When they did, he saw there was now a mother and her child at the telescope, the child looking out to sea with the telescope. He stood at the other side of the path, arms crossed and humming to himself. Soon enough, the mother and child left, leaving the telescope available. Jack ran over to it, inserting the coin into the slot and quickly looking down the sight. He saw several hundred boats of some sort heading straight for the city, a low volume sound of heavy metal soon covering the pier "Oh, no. Oh, no no no no!" Jack growled, running back to the hidden entrance to the underground base"Ty! We got an army coming in! ALL SIDES! I REPEAT! ALL SIDES! Prepare everything!"

"R-Right! Units! Prepare to mobilise!" Ty ordered, swiping his hand out "Use everything we have! Code Purnurple! CODE PURNURPLE!"

*Callie and Marie's house*

The screen started to flicker on the TV screen, eventually changing to a breaking news broadcast.

"What?" Was all Callie could say.

"We interrupt this show to bring you a breaking news report. Several hundred ships of unidentified origin have been spotted incoming all the way around Inkopolis. It is best adviced that everyone capable joins the fight to defend the city, as these ships are showing clear hostility. Anybody unable to must flee to the underground bunkers or take the bridges off the city. The estimated ETA of the ships is 30 Minutes." The reporter said sternly, the screen then immediatly changing to a countdown when he stopped talking. A silence fell on the room, the only noise being the chirping of birds and the beeping of the timer.

"We've only got one option." Callie and Marie said in unison.

"...Two." Callie corrected, running upstairs and coming down with the boxes that were strapped to the walls in Rem and Ix's rooms, quickly returning.

"What you're about to get cost a whole billion coins to produce. I don't want you two getting wreckless." She gave Rem and Ix a serious stare. She ripped the top off the one that had been in Rem's room, taking out a black chest piece with orange lights that looked like it would only cover her breasts, matching shorts and a pair of black boots, the soles and straps going along the back were orange. There was also a pair of black fingerless gloves with orange palms.

"What are...?" Was all she could say.

"They're both your costumes you'll wear when you're a singing duo and all, but they're also armour. I knew that you two would some day be in a situation like this, so I had Ty build these." Callie said quickly, throwing a black jumpsuit adorned with cyan lights, running down the limbs. The next things to get thrown to him were a black chest plate, once again adorned with the cyan lights across the stomach area, along with pairs of gloves and boots identical to Rem's, but cyan where the orange would be.

"Whoa..." Ix breathed as he stared at the armour.

"What are you waiting for!? Get them on!" Callie yelled, pushing them out of the room and slamming the door.

"Now, Marie, what were you gonna say?" She spun around to face Marie, leaning on the door.

"Well, you know how - I see my parents at that little place in the forest?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, my Mom can 'unlock people's potential' in her terms. So maybe we could see if she could, I dunno, try and unlock Rem's potential?" Marie shrugged lightly, standing up.

"Why not both of them?"

"Because that would take too long. It takes at least 6 hours for the whole thing to be completed." Marie said firmly, crossing her arms "Plus, Rem is more patient than Ix."

"Good point. Well, you go see what we can do. I'll stay here. Treble, you NEED to get out of the city with the eggs, got it?" Callie jabbed her finger at the pink haired teen. He nodded quickly, following Marie out the door.

*Ty and Vybe's apartment*

"Hanako, I don't want you to get hurt." Leonidas said, one hand on the girl's shoulder "Besides, I know what happens when you get subjected to too much heat. You could die."

"I know that, Leo, but I want to fight alongside you!" Hanako protested, putting her hands together pleadingly. She looked over to the TV, they had 23 minutes until the ships arrived "Please?" She looked deep into his eyes, giving him the best set of puppy eyes she could. Once again, he managed to terrify him with her eyes "Pwetty pwease?"

"...Fine." Leonidas huffed, turning round and heading for the door "Where's Vybe and Jericho?"

"I think Vybe's gone to find Ty or something. Jericho may be trying to get Amber to safety." Hanako said, following him out.

"Alright. Come on, we need to get everyone together."

*The Northen Pier*

Jack watched the slowly incoming set of ships silently, scowling the whole time as the ships kept charging towards the pier. The loud crashing of large metal legs alerted him to Peace Walker's presence. It landed on the building next to him, taking aim at the ships "Hold still, Peace Walker." Jack held out his hand to the giant mech, then pointed to one of the bridges heading out of the city "Don't go and attack just yet. We need to wait for that bridge to be cleared." He pointed to the bridge, Peace Walker looking over to the bridge itself, staring at the cars for a few seconds.

"Understood." It said, looking back out to sea, making odd low growling noises as it saw the ships once more "Alert."

"Alert?" Jack turned to Peace Walker "What's up?"

"Train approaching Northern Bridge at 152 Miles per hour. De-railing imminent." Peace Walker's spherical pod locked onto a train barelling down the tracks.

"What!?" Jack gasped, leaping over the buildings to the bridge, grinding on the large rail up to the supports, then back down. He lept off, flying through the air and landing on the tracks, creating a small crater as he did. He held out his hands to the oncoming train, preparing to catch it "Ty! Turn off my pain inhibitors!"

"W-what? Your pain inhibitors?" Ty responded.

"Press the blinking red button on that hologram!" Jack barked back, bracing for the impact.

"But-"

"DO IT!" Jack yelled.

"Alright..." Ty said quietly, a hint of fear in his voice. He pressed the aforementioned button, Jack's world instantly turning black and white, his eye gleaming red. The train slammed into him, the tracks getting ripped out of the ground as he slid along the floor, the train making a horrible screeching noise as it went along. Eventually, the main engine flipped over, crushing Jack underneath it. The long trail of cargo boxes kept going along behind it, but either ran off the tracks or were flipped into the air. One particular box slammed into the weakest part of the nearby hill, sending several large rocks flying through the air and onto the road below, crushing cars as they landed. Another box was flung through the air, silently sailing through it. It was broken the split second it hit the bridge, a huge explosion cracking the air, knocking several cars off the bridge with its shockwave. The bridge began to collapse, hundreds of vechiles falling into the water below; sealing the fate of thousands as they plummeted.

Ty was covered by fear as the connection to Jack was lost, the hologram flickering out. He grabbed a remote, running to another hangar "Activate the Striker!"

*Callie and Marie's house*

"Took ya long enough." Callie tutted as Rem and Ix reappeared in their armour sets "We've only got 15 minutes left. Plus, a train just derailed and the northern bridge just got blown to pieces."

 _"Holy shit."_ Ix mouthed.

"Come on! Let's go!" Callie shouted as she ran out of the house, the siblings quickly following her "We're taking the south side."

"Just three of us?" Rem questioned, her fastest running speed was now seemingly a simple jog to her.

"For a while, yes. Marie went to go see someone."

"Who?"

"You'll find out." Was the only reply.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Trinity was suddenly flying above them, a playful smirk on her face.

"Ha ha! Trinity!" Callie's large grin returned, but it was immediatly wiped by an explosion "What?" She looked ahead, seeing the group of ships headed their way were now aimed at the southern bridge, firing on it "What do they think they're doing!?"

The squad could only watch as the bridge collapsed into the sea, water crashing into the air "Those bastards..." Rem hissed, gentle flames coming off her as she watched.

"Easy, sis." Ix put a hand on her shoulder, ignoring the screams.

Callie frowned, looking up to a large screen on a building nearby. They had 9 minutes left "Ok...me and Rem will take the left side, Trinity and Ix take the right. Got it?" Callie clenched her fist, the other three nodding "Good. Come on, Rem!"

The two girls ran down the left exit, stopping at a perch that was rather far out from the beack "Hey, Cal?"

"Yeah?" Callie responded.

"If we don't make it, I just want to let you know that you'll always be my best friend." Rem glanced over to her, then back to the incoming ships.

Callie smiled, her hair briefly sparking, then turning the reflective pink "Ready?"

"Ready." Rem smiled, getting a final inspection of her new armour "Oh, and by the way" She pointed to her largely exposed torso. Without any warning, Callie suddenly struck Rem's stomach. It turned jet black, her blood veins seemingly highlighted as grey marks.

"Nanomachines, Rem. That chest piece was specifically adjusted to your body - so it creates a barrier of them around you." Callie swung at Rem's right arm. She earned a slight flinch, but the effects on Rem's torso were replicated on your arm "See? But it only affects your right arm and torso. So be careful with the other exposed parts."

"Got it-" A sudden explosion shook the area around them, sand being kicked up "Gah! Here they come!" Rem quickly faced the ships, the shredding of a guitar covering the beach.


	25. Hell

Sand was blasted into the air, the shredding of the guitar constantly getting closer "Let's do this." Callie smirked as a shell came flying towards her. She grabbed it, sliding along the floor for a second, then throwing it back with all her force. It hit the boat from which it originally came, the explosion creating a wave that rocked the other ships "Right on!" The other ships responded by unleashing their fury on Callie and Rem, explosions shaking the ground around them.

"Amateurs." Rem grunted, firing a few blasts of energy, destroying ship after ship with each shot. The ships fired on them again, the shots being sent straight back towards them as the duo seemingly breakdanced around each other.

"For the first time we've used this method, it's pretty damn good!" Callie said between position changes, the ships never ending, but easily getting destroyed "I hope Ix and Trinity are doing alright."

*The Right side of the Beach*

"Popcorn?" Ix asked, holding out the bag to Trinity. She nodded, silently taking a handful, keeping her eyes on the sea-based fireworks.

"They're doing good." She commented, chewing on the popcorn.

"Guess they got their work cut out for them." Ix shrugged, leaning against a lamp post.

Trinity sat down, her legs hanging off the edge of the small perch. She looked over to the remains of the bridge, worry covering her face "Hurm..." Was the only noise she made as she did.

"You alright?"

"No...my girlfriend was taking that bridge to escape." Trinity frowned. She would have cried if she hadn't lost the ability to when she was made into a cyborg, she was only to make sniffling noises.

"Gah!" Ix saw a large cruiser approaching the beach, guns blazing. He looked to Trinity, then to the cruiser, back to Trinity and then the cruiser "Gaaah!" He groaned, throwing the popcorn to the ground and leaping off the edge, blasting over to the cruiser. He landed with a solid clang, creating a small dent in it as he did. In a matter of seconds, there were sparks flying as he ran down the deck at full speed, explosions erupting from behind him as missiles were unable to curve around in time. Some headed straight for him, though they were either lept over, slid under or used as footholds for air time to unleash a devastating barrage of energy attacks. A large chunk of the cruiser was blown to bits, the shrapnel falling into the sea.

"Booyah!" Ix smirked, landing and spiralling around several Sealings, quickly obliterating them with one blast once they were dizzy. He looked to the smaller ships, seeing they were still coming, but quickly destroyed _"They've still got it. I need to get this thing down."_

*North East Side*

Leonidas quietly watched the calm waters, the sound of explosions echoing from the streets behind him. He held his sword firmly in his hand, staring directly at the liquid in front of him. He would occasionaly look left and right slightly, but still nothing changed. Hanako sat in the shade nearby, arms on her knees and watching Leonidas, his navy hoodie flapping gently in the breeze.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? What if Derik isn't there?" She asked.

"I know he's here." Was the only response.

A small form of bubbles appeared not too far out from the edge. A figure then burst from out under the water, carrying some form of blade. He headed straight for Leonidas, swining the sword done with all his force. The red haired Inkling grunted as he held up the sword, leaning far back as the sound of a chainsaw screamed around the area. Leonidas yelled as he kicked the now revealed figure off him, a tall humanoid creature in dark, dirty camo with a red set of goggles that covered their eyes completely "Derik!" Leonidas spat, holding the sword to the side of his face.

Derik was smirking beneath that mask that covered his face "Hello, robot..." He said coldly, throwing his sword into the water.

 **Leo's POV**

Derik stared straight into my soul, forcing me to break eye contact with him. He scoffed, slowly beginning to step towards me. I turned my head to Hanako and flicked it to the streets _"Run."_ I mouthed, now holding my blade out in front of me. Derik must've seen me, as he cackled, turning to Hanako himself.

"Ah, Hanako. It's been a while." He hissed, holding out his arms "Come and hug Daddy, eh?"

"Leave her out of this." I spat, tightening my grip on the sword. Hanako was still sitting in the shade, trying to back away from Derik, but only succeeded in pushing herself up against the wall. She looked utterly terrified.

"Come on, she hasn't seen her Daddy in a long time. Why not let her just give him a hug?" Derik laughed, beginning to walk to Hanako. I dashed in front of him, the red blade to his throat.

"I said to leave her out of this." I growled, ready for a fight. If this bastard were to lay one finger on Hanako, he would not be enjoying the rest of his day. I began to slowly walk forwards, the blade still at Derik's throat. He walked back until he hit the edge, almost toppling over. I let him stand, taking a few paces back "This is between you and me."

Derik laughed again, swining his fist towards me. I quickly brought up my sword, his fist deflecting off it while sending sparks around us. I slid under him, kicking him over. He landed on his front with a loud crash, quickly standing back up and facing me "I could kick you right now and that would be the end of it. I would have my precious Little Sister back and we would have the world to ourselves."

Have the world to themselves? What kind of sick world is this guy thinking of? Then, something that made my heart shatter came into my ears. I looked over to the pink haired girl that I held so dear. She was crying. Derik immediatly took advantage of my distraction, running over and kicking me off the edge. I quickly slammed my blade into the wall, taking deep breaths as my feet were dangerously close to the liquid that was so dangerous to my kind. I heard Hanako again, sending a shot of anger and courage through me. I used all my force to throw myself back up, grabbing the sword in between my feet as I flew, flipping and landing back where I first was. Derik was now getting ever closer to Hanako, she had her arms raised defensively "Derik!" I yelled. He spun around to face me, storming back to me.

"What does it take to get you away from my Little Sister!?" He yelled, brining up his fist. I caught it as it came down on me.

"You're a murderer, Derik. I don't get why anyone would ever go along with the shit you've said." I spat, forcing his hand away. He stumbled back as I threw it away, a loud snarl coming from him. He then let out a small chuckle.

"We are nothing more than flesh meat, forced to fight with each other in order to gain the right to live... that's what War teaches you." He shook his head, cracking his knuckles. This psycho was so casual about his inevitable demise.

"War taught me a lot of things. But what you think it has...is wrong, Derik. You're a monster. See what you've done?" I growled, my grip on my blade causing it to shake slightly. I glanced over to the girl I had fallen for, she was shaking like a leaf, her eyes watery, still pressed against the wall "You say Hanako is supposed to be family...what kind of FAMILY terrifies each other!? Tell me, Derik! WHAT FAMILY DOES THAT!?" I snapped back to face him, slowly taking a few steps.

"Those are nothing more than consequences. I have enough experience to understand everything about War... even the only possible solution." He slowly began to stride towards me. Hanako was still sobbing in the corner, making me angrier than ever. I won't let him get near her again. I love her...and the thought of this bastard being in control of her was so...so sickening.

"You're sick..." I glared, Hanako's crying only giving me more of a reason to end this bastard. He's killed thousands. No, millions in my time. I will never let that happen here.

"Hmpf. The words of the weak... unable to grow out of his narrow thoughts. If you refuse to see beyond your pathetic lies... then let me show you, how merciless the truth is." Derik roared as he charged at me, grabbing me by my neck and tossing me into a small building. It began to collapse on top of me, dust obscuring my vision. Quick as lightning, I sliced through everything with my blade, bursting from the rubble. I swiped some dust off my jacket, keeping a firm glare on Derik. He yelled again as he charged once more, head butting me in the gut this time. Saliva shot out of my mouth like a tidal wave, the pain was immense, one of the worst kinds of pain I've ever felt. He kicked me to the side, slowly following me as I rolled along the floor for a couple seconds. I opened my eyes slowly, the first thing I saw was Hanako... I can't watch her crying like this! It makes my heart fall apart!

I reached for my sword, but found that I had dropped it when Derik kicked me, leaving it lying near the rubble of the building. Damnit! Derik laughed as he picked me up by my hoodie, relentlessly pumelling me. He threw me down, stomping on me. God, this hurt...but I will NOT let Derik take Hanako! I let out a yell of my own as I rolled over, grabbing Derik's foot and throwing him over. I scrambled to my feet, running over and grabbing my sword. I glanced to Hanako once more. She had begun to calm down, but she was still beyond terrified. Derik snarled as he got back to his own feet, pulling out a shotgun. Before he could shoot, I launched myself at him, swinging my blade relentlessly at this madman. But he took it like a tank, not even flinching. He scoffed once more, upper cutting me with enough force to send me on a large arc through the air.

"Don't fuck with this Soldier!" Derik shouted as he kicked me before I hit the ground, slamming into a piece of debris that jutted out from the debris of another building. I pushed myself up, using my sword to support my left side, Derik still advancing towards me. Hanako was left shocked, on the verge of tears once more. I was drenched in sweat, coughing up blood... and that asshole still stands up, as if his wounds mean nothing to him!

I will end him. And I will end him HERE.


	26. Standing here

**Before we start, I would just like to say that you CAN review this. I love feedback, ya know?**

 **Leo's POV**

I can't believe this bastard. He just wants to take it all for himself, does he? The city, the lives of innocent people...even the very person I love. He's going to meet his end at my blade, I swear it. I forced myself to stand on my feet, head dropped. Derik was still coming, I could sense his already high energy getting closer. Instead of attacking, I stood there and stared at the dark liquid by my feet. I slowly lifted my head to stare directly at Derik. He stopped his advance, now only a few paces from me. I turned my head slightly so Hanako could see my eyes "Hanako...run. You need to get out of here." I say weakly, but still have a sense of urgency in my voice. She's trying to move, but she can't, paralyzed by fear. I grunt, raising my head to Derik. He was still advancing towards me, hands clenched tightly into fists. He was making a low growling noise, I know there's bloodshot eyes behind those goggles. I just know. He yelled as he charged at me, tackling me to the ground, then proceeding to slam his fists into my face at an incredible pace.

"Die, you sack of shit!" He screamed, putting all his weight into his foot as he stood up abruptly, grabbing my foot and slamming me into the ground over and over, leaving craters where I hit. I saw my sword sail skywards, vanishing in the stained abyss above us. I was suddenly thrown upwards myself, quickly catching up to my blade. I grabbed it, making sure the sparking red blade was facing down as a plummeted back down to earth. Derik managed to see me coming at the last second, immediatly jumping out of the way as chunks of the arena were sent into the air. I yanked my sword out of the ground, lunging and swiping at Derik.

"You still live. You're certainly STUBBORN!" Derik slammed his fist into my head. I was on the floor in a second.

 **Hanako's POV**

Seeing Leonidas just get battered like this was tearing at my heart. He was getting the beating of his life, while I just sat here, crying. Every time he was knocked down, he would get back up, but was constantly getting weaker, taking longer to stand each time. I want to help him so much, but I'm frozen here, shaking. Derik knocks him down seemingly for good this time, now he's walking back towards me, arms open. I finally bring up enough strength to do something, it's not much, but it's all I can do right now.

"Leo!" I shout to him. He moves slightly, making a groaning noise. Derik was still coming towards me. I backed up further, but found myself pressed against the wall once more. There was a fairly loud 'Shunk!' as Leo stabbed the ground with his sword, first on one knee, then getting back to his feet.

"Derik!" He shouted, Derik stopping in his tracks at the sound of his voice. He turned to face Leonidas "I will not let you get close to Hanako, no matter your pathetic reason." He held his sword up, his face covered in bruises "Now...leave her alone and fight me. She has nothing to do with this."

Derik laughed as he strolled over to Leonidas, standing a few paces from him "She's my Little Sister, she belongs to me."

"Alright, if that's truly the case." Leo slowly lowered his sword so the sharpest point was facing Derik "Let's dance!"

"C'mon!" Derik laughed as he ran at Leo, slamming his fist into his chest. Leo immediatly used the knockback from that to pull Derik over with him, stomping his foot onto his face several times. I was so shocked that Leo of all people was this brutal. I did consider Derik important once, but seeing them fight like this was...painful to watch. And they were fighting over me. I looked down to the floor, taking deep breaths until I heard another yell from Leo. I looked back up to see him and Derik had their arms locked, glaring into the other's soul. Leo then began pummeling Derik's side with his free arm. He threw Derik over his shoulder, a building collapsing on top of him. With a loud roar, the debris flew away from him, Derik cracking his knuckles.

"I like you, Leo! So I'm giving you another shot!" He shouted as he lunged for Leo again.

Leo lept back, grabbing his sword that had been previously implanted into the ground "Let's get something straight: my friends call me Leo, but I'm Leonidas and you're not my friend!"

 **Leo's POV**

"Hmpf, does that really matter?" Derik yelled as he swung his fists at me, often coming barely short of a hit or two.

"Probably not, but-" Derik finally got a hit on me, sending me flying towards a building. I flipped back as I approached it, leaping off the wall as I hit it. I yelled as I shot back towards Derik, slashing my sword as I got close.

 **Rem's POV**

What wave is this? Wave 10? Yeah, Wave 10 sounds pretty good. These things never stop coming! Callie's utterly exhausted, Ix is out there destroying cruisers, but I don't know what the hell Trinity and Marie are doing. I could feel my energy dropping, my attacks taking more and more power to destroy the incoming ships.

"I'm here!" That was Marie's voice! What took her so long!? "Rem, I need you to follow me!" I stopped firing, turning to Marie.

"Why?" I answered "I'm kinda busy here!" The instant I finished speaking, there was a chain reaction of explosions, a blue streak darting between ships as it happened "I guess Ix has it covered."

"Good. Now follow me!" Marie grabbed my wrist, yanking me off the ground as she launched into the sky, flying towards the forest "Can you sit in front of someone for 6 hours?"

"Um...yeah. Why?" I asked.

"I'll explain in a second." Marie said, landing in a forest clearing. There were fallen trees, scattered rocks and a waterfall, though it was clearly out of shape. There were two shadowed Inklings standing at the top of the waterfall, staring directly at me and Marie. One of them jumped down. Her silver tentacles were quite long, dragging slightly on the floor. She looked me up and down, silently. Her clothes were rather dirty, were they the only set she even had?

"She looks different than what you told us." She commented, looking to Marie.

"So?"

"...Sit." The woman said, plunking herself down on the floor. Marie motioned her head for me to do the same. I stood for a few seconds, looking to between the two of them. Eventually, I sat down, legs crossed. The woman held out her hands, focusing directly on my face "I need you to be as still as you can."

"Ok?"

"Remember what I told you about sitting in front of someone for 6 hours?" Marie sighed, putting her hands on her hips.

"You meant this, didn't you?" I sighed lightly.

"Yep."

"Great..."


	27. I realise

**Leo's POV**

He's alive...He's still alive!? After I put all my strength into that swipe, how did this ASSHOLE take it without even making the slighest noise!? I hissed at him, slamming my foot into the ground as I leaped towards him once more, slashing my sword like crazy. I got every single hit on him, but he didn't even flinch! What is this guy made of!?

"Just...DIE!" I screamed, sheating my sword, punching Derik, causing him to stagger slightly, then drew my sword again. It came out like lightning, creating a huge scar across his chest armour.

"It's not that easy, Leonidas," Derik huffed as he grabbed the hood of my hoodie, hoisting me up so I was facing him "There's more to battling then just attacking!" He dropped me, his fist immediatly colliding with my face...that hurt. A lot. But I refuse to give up here! I heard my sword clatter past me, sliding to a stop. I groaned as I forced myself to stand up, holding my arm. Why...why can't I just go Super!? What's stopping me!? Whether something's stopping me emotionally, I just have to try...

I began to scream in that oh-so familiar way, feeling the energy around me increasing. The tentacle that covered my eye didn't even move. It should, it always has. I knew that my energy level was increasing, that's for certain, but nothing was changing at all. No golden aura, no hair. No nothing. I gave up, falling to my knees, hands on the floor. What...what's wrong with me!? WHY CAN'T I JUST BEAT THIS GUY!? I stood up again, Derik was chuckling away, arms crossed.

"What was that?" He broke into full laughter, then stopped once he heard the sound of energy gathering.

"Ka...Me...Ha...Me..." I had my hands to my side, a swirling mass of blue energy between them, beams of light shooting from it. If this attack doesn't do much, then I'm dead...Derik began to say something as the energy ball reached its limit, ready to be fired.

"Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

"HAAAAAA!" I threw my hands forward, the ball of energy immediatly transforming into a huge energy wave that shot towards Derik, ripping up the ground as it went. I heard Hanako scream as it barely missed her shade, ripping through the buildings as it went. I pushed the fact I'd scared Hanako away, finishing the attack. It faded into a small trail, then vanished into nothing; smoke covering where Derik had been. There was only the sound of the energy fading and rocks falling from the sky. Then laughter.

"That actually hurt, Leonidas." Derik laughed as he stepped out of the smoke, the regular pieces of clothing on him covered in holes, but the majority of his armour was barely even scratched. He took a Super Kamehameha almost point-blank and lived!? Then again, that wasn't my strongest attack. Derik the suddenly tripped, the metal of his armour hitting the floor with a loud 'KANG!' I saw there were vines tightly wrapped around his feet, which were struggling madly to break free.

"Stop it! Please!" Hanako called out, the vines were coming from her hand, burrowing into the ground and popping out once again, wrapped around Derik's feet.

"Hanako! Don't...you...you need to run...!" My voice was getting weaker as I shouted over to her. She heard me, her vines unwrapping themselves from Derik's feet and returning into her hand "Please..." Was all I could say. Shaking slightly, the nodded, running from the arena, leaving me and Derik in it. It was just, one-on-one, no interruptions, no Hanako...even if I die, I know she's going to be safe.

"What a bad girl. I'm going to have to punish her once I'm done with you." Derik said, ice cold. He punched the floor, sending a wave of fire bursting from the ground towards me. I couldn't do anything, only watching it come towards me. When it hit, I was sent into the sky, Derik leaping up and kicking me diagonally back down. I landed next to my sword, thank god. I weakly grabbed it, getting on one knee, then being kicked down. Every time I tried, Derik would kick me down again. And again. And...again...everything began to get blurry as my hearing became muffled. No...I can't fall...not...here...

 **Derik's POV**

Finally. He's finally down. He's slowly vanishing into a void, dying. It took him long enough to accept his fate. I sneered as I saw his hand go limp, that pathetic blade rolled out of his grip. I stepped on him once more, hard. He was still alive, though, letting out a weak yell as my foot collided with his chest. I stomped on him one last time, laughing at his pain. I removed my foot, turning around to find that naughty Hanako. Hurt her Big Daddy, eh? She's going to get a big punishment. Before I could start my chase, I heard a noise come from Leonidas. I turned to face him, he's still alive. I spit as he rolls over slowly to grab his sword, his body seems to be screaming at him not to, but he stands up once more, legs shaking and blade held weakly.

"I...won't...let you get Hanako..." He says weakly, taking heavy breaths. He puts all his strength into a lunge towards me, taking a large slash with his sword. I brought up my fist, the sword easily deflecting off my wrist. He tried to scream, but all that came out was a pathetic whimper. The sword simply bounced off me this time, making no sound or sparks. It fell out of his grasp, hitting the floor with a clatter. I held my fist back for a second, energy charging into it.

"Hasta la VISTA!" My fist slammed into his face, sending him sliding across the ground, ripping it up as he went. He crashed into a building, the whole thing coming down on top of him. I huffed as I turned again, following the path that Hanako took.

 **Leo's POV**

Everywhere was on fire; it's all I could see. Then, I saw something coming towards me, and mad laughter. Ty's laughter. I saw him laughing on top of some rocks, head thrown back and a piece of shrapnel stuck in his forehead. The explosion hit us both, he was unharmed, but it blew me away. I landed in a black void, nobody around me. No sound. Nothing. I looked around, then saw a light, and it was getting closer.

"Leo...Help..." Hang on...that's Hanako. I shouted her name, but there was quietness.

"Hanako!" I shouted again, louder "HANAKO!" I eventually turned to screaming. Nothing. I fell to my knees, sobbing "Hanako-ho-ho..." I can't believe I failed. Then, the explosion came again.

My eyes slammed open, finding myself in darkness again, but in a rather uncomfortable position and something was crushing me. I...I'm alive! With the strongest yell I could muster, I created a shockwave that blew the rubble around me away, my golden aura returned, my tentacle that covered my eye now standing straight up. But something felt different this time. I looked to my torn sleeve, seeing electricity sparking around it. The small tentacles on the back of my head felt longer, too. Heheh...Derik's got a whole new world of pain coming for him.


	28. You are just like me

**Leo's POV**

With one single punch, I obliterated the rubble that had covered the exit Derik had taken from the arena. It flew all across the street, smashing into buildings and destroying their windows. Derik wasn't too far down the street, but he seemingly didn't take any notice of the explosion, or the shockwave that followed it. I let out a terrifying battle cry as I blasted towards him, grabbing the back of his goggles, spinning him round and throwing him into the air, teleporting above his flight path, kicking him diagonally down into the arena. I gently floated down next into the arena, glaring daggers at him.

"What...you shouldn't be here! You died!" He gasped, scrambling to his feet, raising his guard. I didn't say anything, my serious expression giving him all the answers he needed. The arena was almost completely silent, only the sound of the electricity sparking around me and the distant explosions were heard "That doesn't matter. Special effects or not, you're going down." He dashed towards me, throwing a heavy punch. I caught it effortlessly, glaring into his eyes.

"Don't you dare hurt Hanako." I hissed, throwing his hand away. He slid along the floor briefly, standing back up immediatly. I threw a punch of my own, it hit Derik's jaw with a satisfying crunch. That felt good, really good. Derik grunted as he stood back upright, snapping his jaw back into its normal position. Was I a bit obsessive over Hanako...? No, I don't think so. He charges again, hitting my chest. It sent a small bit of pain through me, earning him a small grunt. I grabbed him by his neck, leaping off the ground and performing several rolls in the air, tightly holding his neck. I released him as I hit the ground: throwing him a tower. It came down on top of him, covering the whole arena and more with dust. It took a while, but it eventually faded. Derik was standing on the pile, panting.

"Not bad." He leaped off it, landing right in front of me "But it's going to take more than that."

I scowled, turning around and grabbing my sword from the ground. I held it up to Derik, my death stare running down it and into his eyes "Let's dance." I said, ice cold. I dashed towards him, bringing my sword down on him. He grabbed it, allowing me to flip him over, stomping on him several times. He jumped up, kicking me away. I landed on my hands, flipping over onto my feet, wiped away some dirt off my hand and grabbed his fist as he suddenly appeared in front of me. I kicked him back, bringing my sword to the side of my head once more. We charged at each other, Derik taking swinging his fist into my chest while I swiped for his arm. I managed to cut off a small part of his armour, exposing his grossly discoloured flesh. We spun around, lunging at each other again. Derik hit my blade, sending it spiralling out of my hand, through the air and stabbing itself into the ground. As I snapped my head back to Derik, I saw his fist blasting towards me. I threw a punch of my own, our arms locking again. I punched him in the same spot as I did last time, harder and faster with each blow. He then recoiled his arm, grabbing me by my waist and chucking me into the air. I had only one choice left right now. I put my fingers together, the blade of energy bursting forth from my hand.

"HYAAA!" I swung it down as I hurtled back towards the ground. I hit Derik again, barely. Once again, I had cut off some of his armour, revealing more of his flesh. While he was staggered, I ran over to the blade that had been implanted into the earth, throwing it into the air and expertly catching it, dispersing the blade of energy in my other hand. Derik hissed as he gave me a death stare of his own, throwing his hands to his side and head back, releasing an inhuman roar. He lowered his head, glaring at me again. He suddenly leaped over to a building, digging his hands into the wall. He lift the whole tower up, laughing at me. He jumped far into the air, throwing the building at me. I drew my sword, delivering a huge slash to it. I watched as it split in half, the two pieces screeching on the floor as they landed, a loud bang sounding as they stopped. Derik was now hurtling towards me. I flipped backwards as he got close, another crunching noise filling the air as my feet connected. I landed, seeing Derik a heap on the floor. He moaned as he stood up, pulling his jaw down, then snapping it back up. That noise was actually rather disgusting, now that I hear it again. I shook my head, swinging my sword in front of me to taunt him. That worked, as he charged at me again, arms out. I lept over him, kicking him. He arched through the air, landing in another pile of wreckage. He scowled at me, standing up again. I don't know if he's in pain or not, but I will make him suffer. I blasted towards him, grabbing him by the collar, tossing him into the air. I vanished, reappearing above him and kicked him down at supersonic speeds. He slammed into the ground, turning the whole arena into a crater. With a large scowl on my face, I landed next to where I saw Derik impact. He wasn't there.

"Gotcha!" Derik yelled as he grabbed me from behind, hands tightly gripped on my neck. I was quickly reduced to gasping for air, my knees getting weak. Derik didn't let me fall, only tighening his grip. I snarled, slamming my elbow into Derik's stomach. He yelled out as he releashed me. I fell to my knees, catching my breath. I stood up, grabbing my sword from the ground again. Derik was still clutching his stomach, groaning. Deciding to give him a taste of his own medicine, I lept at him, rolling through the air with my sword held out. Derik jumped out of the way at the last second. My sword hit the ground with a clang. I stood up, sword pointed to him "I'm gonna make sushi out of you!" He ran at me, ready to tackle me. I jumped, using him as a footstool for extra air time. I brought up my free hand, a ball of red energy forming above it. I threw it at Derik, a large explosion shaking the whole city when it hit. I then plummeted for where he had last been seen, feet first. There was another crunch, along with Derik screaming. And that felt REALLY good. I lept off Derik, neatly landing behind him. He hissed as he stood up, holding his wrist "Now that one hurt!"

"Good!" I replied, flicking my sword "It's only gonna get worse!"

 **Hey, I hoped ya liked the chapter and all...but I have something to say. I checked the total views for this story and Chapter 1 has about 1,600 or so. But the problem is how low the other chapters view counts are. Some have less than a hundred. I'm sure we all know what this means: People aren't enjoying my story enough to continue reading and I'm just writing away. I'll probably be taking a break from writing Splatoon fics...come on, this is just DBZ/Metal Gear Rising using Splatoon characters. Either that, or take a break from fics all together. Now I'm probably gonna have someone say "Good! Just quit FanFiction!" aren't I?**


	29. Trying to make history

**Leo's POV**

"Bring it on!" Derik leapt through the air towards me, his fist glowing with burning energy. I grabbed it, throwing him to the ground. He immediatly jumped back up, putting all his force into a punch to my face. It connected, sending me spinning through the air. I crashed into a building, creating a large dent in the side. I flew out of the dent, smashing into Derik head first; going through several buildings before we stopped. I grabbed him by his throat, pinning him to a wall as I slammed my knee into his gut over and over then threw him through yet more buildings "You pest!" He shouted as he flew through the now collapsing towers. I jumped only mere seconds before he appeared. I sneered as I slammed my feet into his back, slamming him into the ground. His energy level is dropping pretty fast. I need to end this quickly. I landed on Derik, blasting him with energy. He forcefuly pushed himself up, knocking me over. He immediatly grabbed my foot and spun me around, constantly getting faster. He released his grip on me, tossing me into a building.

"I wasn't even trying." I remarked, vanishing from his sight. I reappeared behind him, punching the back of his head. He stumbled, slamming his head into my stomach when he snapped to face me. I snarled, taking a few slices with my sword. I finally managed to cut off his face armour. His flesh was grey, blood shot eyes and a murderous smile on his face. I ignored it, kicking him at a rapid pace. He yelled when he blocked one, pumelling me into the hard ground. It hurt a lot, but this fight is almost done...I just need to tough it out a little longer. I caught his foot as it came down again, throwing it back and quickly getting to my feet, grabbing my sword once more - I need to hold onto this tighter. I performed a spin attack, slashing away at Derik's armour. I managed to get an opening in the area around his waist. That was where I need to hit to finish this.

"That's it!" Derik grabbed my sword, throwing it into the ground "Die!" He lunged at me, arms out. I grabbed his hands, both of us pushing against the other's force. He forced me onto my knees, our arms are now shaking from the force being applied to them. I head butted him, causing him to stumble back and allowing me to grab my sword. I turned to see him dashing towards me, ready to tackle me to the ground. I uppercutted him as he got close, exposing the flesh around his stomach. I immediatly plunged my sword into him, the blade going all the way through. Derik groaned as he stumbled back, head raised to the sky. He lowered it, his eyes glowing red. He let out another inhuman roar, then continued his charge. We got into another grapple, glaring into each other's eyes. I found and opening and lifted him off the ground, his legs flailing around.

"W-What!?" He gasped before I threw him skywards, grabbing my sword out of the ground and flying up after him.

"We're done here!" I yelled as he slashed my sword through the exposed flesh at his waist, cutting him clean into two. I flipped in the air, nailing the landing as what remains of Derik hit the ground behind me, sliding my sword back into it's scabbard. Without a word, I left the arena.

 **Narrators POV**

"Wait..." Derik said weakly as Leonidas left, but it was no use: he didn't hear him "Leo...nidas..." Derik moaned, his eyes beginning to close "Medic..." His head fell, his heart slowing down to a halt.

* * *

Leonidas ran through the red streets, ashes and sparks floating throug the air. He kept calling for Hanako, but never heard a response, only the cracking of fire and echoed gun shots, the occasional energy blast and scream. But none of those screams sounded like Hanako, having perfectly memorised her voice. He called out for her again, then finally got a response, Hanako calling out for him, too. He followed her voice, soon arriving at a piece of pathway which had been segmented off from the rest of the city by debris. Hanako was backed into a corner, shivering as Sea Lions slowly approached her. Leonidas scowled, his hair silently turning gold.

"Please...just stay away from me!" Hanako shouted, barely able to stand. A Sealing cackled, raising up it's hands. Before it could lunge, the wind picked up and all fire in the vicinity was extinguished, a golden blur circling them all. As Hanako regained her strength and respectable visual appearance, she saw Leonidas appear on a piece of rubble behind the Sea Lions.

"Hey! You have someone more important to deal with!" He shouted, the Sea Lions immediatly spinning to face him. He turned his body so that his arm was facing them. He smirked at the leader of the squadron, a tall female Sealing. The Sea Lions opened fire on him, the debris he was standing on exploding under him as he jumped off, performing a double front-flip as he soared through the air, crushing a Sea Lion as he landed, then proceeding to easily dispose of everyone that stood in his way as he darted about, stopping in front of a disabled Big Foot. He smirked, gently pushing it and watching as it fell down into a large hole, then zipped over to Hanako "Name's Leo!" He gave a cocky grin to the female Sealing "Leonidas Altezio!" He scooped Hanako up, holding her bridal style, dashing off down the empty streets.

"Not L-15 again!" The female Sealing threw her hands in the air "Attack!" She thrusted her pointed finger forward, the remaining Sea Lions and Big Foot units firing Missiles from the boxes on their shoulders. Hanako screamed as they exploded around her and Leonidas as he ran, often getting too close for comfort with an explosion, though Leonidas wasn't even fazed by anything, keeping his high speed dash going, missiles following them, completely destroying the already ruined roads. Hanako saw the last set of missiles blasting towards them, but Leonidas didn't notice. She swiped her hand up, a huge Oak Tree erupting from the ground as she did it. The Missiles connected with it, causing the branches and bark to scatter, leaves being burned in any stray fires. Leonidas gave the pink haired girl an exhilarated glance.

"Nice save!" He shouted above the winds, slowing down his dash, stopping at a corner and setting Hanako down, his hair returning to its normal red "You alright?"

Hanako smiled, giving him a thumbs up "Yep!"

"Ah, that's good to hear. Considering the fact we both nearly got blown up, you're awfully positive." Leonidas leaned against the building behind him, his hand rising up his forehead, his tentacle briefly uncovering his eyes, falling back down once Leonidas removed his hand.

"Leo, you're the brave one. I don't even think your own mother would do what you did! Well, she would obviously save me, but you know what I mean." Hanako shrugged playfully "But...that was an incredible rush."

Their eyes locked and everything went completely quiet around them, only the sound of their faint breathing was heard "Um...hi." Leonidas let out a single, small laugh.

"Hi." Hanako smiled awkwardly, subconsciously taking a step towards Leonidas "You, uh, thinking about finding the others?"

"Well I'm thinking of someone." Leonidas replied, giving no protests as Hanako leant on his chest.

"You're warm." Hanako commented, looking up at his face "...I like it." Grass began to grow from under Hanako's feet, slowly spreading across the street.

"Is that you doing that?" Leonidas asked, putting his hand on Hanako's back. She nodded, standing up right, her hands on Leonidas' back, hugging him gently.

"Probably." Their faces were a fair few centimetres away from each other, but that gap was closing slowly. Eventually, they had their foreheads against one another, hands wrapped around the other. Then their lips lunged at each other, sending them into their own little world, pink and red flowers quickly growing across the grass, instantly blooming into roses. A good two minutes or so passed, both stuck in their own small meadow of roses. With a small bit of regret, Leonidas broke the kiss, staring deeply into Hanako's beautiful eyes.

"I fell for you the instant I heard your voice." He said softly, a smile appearing on his face as he caressed her cheek.

Hanako stared back. Leo's smile wasn't a triumphant smile, nor a cocky one. No, it was a smile of genuine happiness "I love you, too."


	30. Jack's back

**Jack's POV**

I see that holographic display come back 'ONLINE' it reads, the bar representing how long I can last flickers back, followed by the amount of fuel cells I have left, then the ammo for the pistol I keep on me. I try and reach for my sword to cut my way out of this, but my arm's stuck. I try with the other one, which isn't stuck, thankfully. ...I've got no choice here. I close my eyes tight as I put the blade to my shoulder, then slash.

 **Flashback**

We're in the park with Rem, Maria has the ink tank holding Ix, Tenta and Tek strapped to her belt. There's a sudden explosion of ink nearby. I immediatly draw my sword, holding it tight as I keep my gaze on where I saw the fuschia ink. Almost immediatly, a group of Octolings burst from the trees, a psychopathic grin on their faces as they charge around, splatting innocent civillians. Then they start heading towards us. One throws a Seeker, barely coming short of Maria. Rem screams as she barely dodges the falling ink, running to Maria.

"J, we need to get out of here." Maria says sternly, holding Rem close. I shake my head, waiting to the Octolings to make their next move.

"No, YOU need to, I can handle these on my own." Just as I'm about to run at the Octolings myself, one swims through the ink left behind by the Seeker, leaping out and slamming into Maria, the ink from the tank on her belt scattering across the floor, Rem and her falling to the ground. Two more swim over, then lunge for the eggs. Maria and Rem aren't moving...no, that attack wasn't enough to kill them. I immediatly jump in the Octolings' way, slashing one of them in two. They explode, covering my trenchcoat in their ink. Damnit, that's never coming out. I snarl, throwing it off to reveal my cyborg body. I turn to where I saw the last Octoling, they have the eggs.

"Hmm...that makes about 24 eggs." She cackles. Wordlessly, I swipe at her, she leaps out of the way, dropping Ix. I don't hear a noise come from the egg, hoping that it's not been damaged "So long, sucker!" The Octoling laughs, throwing a smoke bomb. When the smoke fades, she's gone. Maria and Rem are still there, Ix by my foot. I lean down and pick him up gently, holding the blue orb close to my chest. Why he's blue, I don't know, but I can't believe I let them get Tenta and Tek...Maria's going to be so upset...

"Ungh...Jack...?" Maria slowly pushes herself up "What happened...?"

I look at Ix, then to Maria, my face full of sorrow.

 **End of Flashback**

I'm sure this scream can be heard even from outside all this wreckage. Desperatly trying to ignore the pain, I cut open the train above me, the sunlight blinding me briefly as I get out from under it. Around me is carnage. The bridge has been destroyed, cars overturned and on their sides, ink staining the roads. The wreckage of the train surrounds me, some of the box cars on the hill, some on the road. I look to Inkopolis, which is up in flames, the ships I saw before now much larger in number. I see Peace Walker, Chrysallis and even a RAY or two destroying them with ease. There's something else, too. It's about the size of the RAYs, black and purple, covered in spikes. I have no idea what it is, but it looks like a humanoid jet. I look to where my arm once was, it's bleeding heavily. I look around, thankfully finding an ambulance nearby. I leap down to it, slicing a hole in it. I reach into one of the boxes, ripping out a bandage which I immediatly wrap over the stub, staining it red with my false blood, but hey, as long as it works.

I leap over to some of the boats heading for Inkopolis, jumping off that one and to another, chaining them together until I landed on a pier. I turn around and see the boats again. Suddenly, a Sealing grabs me from behind, a knife to my neck. I throw him over me, stomping on him; killing it.

"You have sustained heavy damage." Peace Walker suddenly speaks, causing me to jump "Do you need medical attention?"

I look to where my arm once was, then back to Peace Walker and shake my head "I'm fine, Peace Walker. Keep...keep doing what you need to do."

"Understood." Peace Walker turns around, walking back to its original position. I turn, heading for the southern side.

 **Callie's POV**

It's been 3 whole hours! Why isn't Rem back!? "We need some backup!" I yell, hoping somebody hears me, quickly spinning around and punching a Sealing with a charged punch.

"I'm fighting my butt off here!" Ix shouts back as he slams into another cruiser, using the explosion as a distraction while he finishes off some smaller ships. Everything then comes to a standstill, myself facing a row of Sealings. Then, out of nowhere, there's a flash of light and a yell.

"Gangwaaaaay!"

I can't even process what's happening as an Inkling charges through the row of Sealings, crushing all of them, the ones on the boats watching in horror as the ones on the beach were crushed. There was another flash of light and the Inkling is gone.

"That was handy!" I remark, the fight resuming.

 **Heyo, I got a poll set up on my profile, since nobody seems to be voting. Anyway, holy crap, 30 chapters. This is my longest fic yet right now. Though my next story may exceed this one. And no, that won't be coming out any time soon. Like I said, I'm gonna take a break from writing once I'm finished with this. So expect it early 2016 or late December. Now, I need to go gather me some souls.**


	31. The Cyborg, the Lion and the Innuendos

**Hey guys, got some things to say. First off, there was going to be a Splat X 3, but that's been cancelled due to the main premise being unoriginal (Another Human Invasion) along with several other reasons that I won't name. Second, this is going to be my last Splatoon story for a while. I'll still update Random Shenanigans, but don't expect any major stories any time soon. Having said that, my next Fic will be a Dragon Ball Z one. Yeah, about time, I know. Anyway, this doesn't mean I'm going to cancel this story, I'm definetly going to finish it. Anyway, with that out of the way, please enjoy.**

 **Leo's POV**

"Whoa!" Hanako yells as I leap from the ground onto a building, chaining the jumps together from building to building.

"I got you." I smile at her, gently tightening my grip to prove my point. We're headed for the South side of the city. I can sense Aunt Cal and Ix's energy signatures there, along Trinity's and one that I don't think I've felt before. Eventually, the pier comes into view, I can see what I think is Ix darting around the ships, slamming into them so hard they explode, landing on a cruiser and causing it to blow itself up with it's own weapons. Callie is firing as many attacks as she can at them, but she's getting weak. Trinity...I don't know where Trinity is or what she's doing, but she's around here. Then I see someone new on the beach, he's like a Cyborg, platinum hair and blue eyes...I don't think I've seen him before. I then realise he's missing an arm, though easily slicing through Sea Lions with ease with the silver sword in his hand.

"About time you showed up!" Callie yelled as I landed next to her, setting Hanako down and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. She smiles, turning to where the cyborg is fighting and shooting deadly leaves from her fingers at the boats.

"Well," I frown drawing my sword "I was kinda fighting Derik."

"Oh." Is Callie's only response as she continues blasting the ships. I sheate my sword, tapping her on the shoulder, gently pushing her down.

"I got this." I say, turning Super Inkling 2 as I've decided to call it. Callie makes no protests, quickly lying down. I charge a Kamehameha, firing it at the incoming ships; obliterating all of them.

 **Jack's POV**

Cackling all the way, I easily cut through the army of Sea Lions and Sealings headed my way. Then, they send a whole squadron at me, seemingly hundreds of Sea Lions and Sealings seemingly gliding through the water towards me.

With a yell, I get a slight red flame gently emanating from me, my eye turning red "It looks like it's time for Jack the Ripper, TO LET 'ER RIP!" I shout maniacally, the two black pieces of metal to the sides of my face covering my eyes. Before they can even process what's happening, I'm slicing and dicing through them, their blood staining my sword and soon turning it pure red. Their screams and the blood flying through the air...so pretty. Eventually, my sword hits something strong. I look up and see a large Sea Lion towering over me "Hahahahaha...that's some tough armour you got there, bub."

"Yes, it is. You know, I fought someone with a sword like yours just the other week." They huff, arms folded. I point my sword to them, they show no signs of fear.

"Oh, really? Heheh, I saw that." I quickly slash at him, he leaps back seemingly detecting my swing before I even brought my sword across "Not bad, but nobody escapes the Ripper." I hold my sword back, red energy swirling around it. I charge at him, activating Zendatsu, time around me slowing down, turning to him and his armour away. Underneath is another layers as I return time to normal, sliding past, then leaping at him, slamming my knee into his face. He recoils back, a small amount of blood falling from his mouth.

"That hurt..." He sneered, wiping the blood away. With a yell of his own, he slammed his fist into my face, sand being sent flying into the air as I shot back along the beach. Flipping over, I landed on the stone wall at the end, blasting back towards my foe, slicing their right gauntlet off, exposing their grey hand "You're pretty good, better than L-15." He grabs me by my hair, though I quickly kick him in the chest with both feet, scrambling to my feet after I land on my back. I take a few slashes at him, though he grabs my arm. Uh oh. He roars as he tears it off, red blood covering the sand, though the wound is quickly covered by...leaves? I look around and see a light pink haired girl focusing on me, a light ring of green leaves orbiting her hands.

She must be the one controlling these leaves. She then turns back to the sea, launching some leaves at the ships, which cut through them, exploding a few seconds later. The leaves feel tightly wrapped around where my arm once was. I quickly look back to my new foe, leaning back as he goes for an uppercut and I see 'Zeek' written on the underside of his gauntlet. I sprint over to my arm, bending over and picking up the sword in my mouth, turning back to Zeek, I run past him, cinching the second layer of his armour. I then kick him several times, throwing my sword into the air and catching it with my foot, slicing the back of his armour off.

"No you don't!" Zeek spins around immediatly, punching me away. Thankfully, my sword remains in my grip. I lunge back towards him, flying through the air. He is covered by shock as my sword heads towards his face, cutting his skull clean in two. I land behind him, hearing a 'THUMP' as his body falls. With a small laugh, the red aura dissipates as I drop the sword, sitting against a wall, I'm sure the others have this covered. I lean my head back and close my eyes, finally getting some well deserved rest...in the middle of a war zone. Nothing out of the ordinary for someone like me.

 **Rem's POV**

Seems like it's been about four and a half...wait...what's that...my god that feels good. But what's going on down there? I look down to my large chest, holding an arm up to it in confusion, but Marie then grips my arm, forcing it back down.

"Rem." She warns me, giving me a stern look. I briefly scrunch my face up in protest, returning to silence and managing to keep that little moan down.


	32. And it will come

**Leo's POV**

Ok, so far so good- WHOA! What's that...that incredible energy level!? The whole fight comes to a standstill, everyone else seemingly sensing the enormous energy. I look to where it seems to be coming from and see a light orange glow in the sky, slowly descending. Once it gets on the ground, we all see who it is. Rem, with a long coat flowing out behind her, tentacles blowing gently. She's entirely white, save for her now red eyes and the slight orange outline on her. Every single one of the Sea Lions is staring at her. She looks down, eyes closed

"I am fire..." She says without opening her mouth "the light transformed." There was a brief pause, then an incredible flash of light, the ships seemingly melting almost instantly. She then began slowly advancing towards the remaining ships, our side watching silently. The quiet was then broken by the whole armada of ships either being destroyed by Ix or firing on Rem. The smoke then cleared, showing Rem, who hadn't sustained any damage.

"Whoa, what happened to you, Mom?" I laugh quietly, scratching the back of my head. She didn't answer, continuing her advance towards the opponents. Someone suddenly grabbed my waist, their chin on my shoulder. I already know who it is "What's up, Han?"

"What's up with Rem?" Hanako asks, motioning to the girl in question as she gently hovers over the water.

"I don't- WHOA!" There's another bright flash and pieces the ships were now raining from the sky, barely missing us all as they impaled themselves into the ground, along with a few chunks of Sea Lion splatting into the ground. One hit my face, sliding down and covering my face in it's blood, earning a small giggle from Hanako at the initial splat.

 **Rem's POV**

He's over there, I can sense him. Danja, you bastard, get over here.

He doesn't move. Not one bit.

I snarl, holding out my arm as I spin around, annihalating what remains of the ships. Ix flies off one of the cruisers seconds before it explodes, performing several flips in the air and landing next to Marie, who had followed me back. He stood up and gave her a quick kiss, turning to me and cheering as the debris splashed into the sea around me.

 _"Well done..."_ That was Danja's voice... _"But it's no use."_ Something then slammed into me, sending me crashing into the pier.

"Bastard!" I hear Ix yell, he then screams out in pain as I presume what hit me hits him. Then, everything begins to fade, eyesight, hearing, everything.

"Ix...Rem...N-!" The everything goes blank.

The next time I open my eyes, there's an odd pink-ish sky above me, filled with several colorful orbs. I get on my feet, seeing Ix lying on the ground nearby. I run over to him and manage to shake him awake.

"What...Sis, what's going on?" He groans as he stands up, holding his head.

"I dunno." I answer, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Then, an evil laugh echoes through the colourful, yet barren wasteland.

"You two...you're not bad. Especially you, Rem." The voice is once again Danja's, it's coming from all directions "You may or may not have realised, but...you're dead."

"WHAT!?" We both shriek, leaping back.

"Now, now. If you can beat me," Danja then appears on a shrine in front of eyes, seven gems orbiting him "You can return to your realm. But, that won't happen!" He begins laughing at the top of his lungs as the gems shoot into him, a blinding light erupting from him. Me and Ix shield our eyes from the light, clouds of dust kicking up and small rocks flying past us.

 **Narrators POV**

Back in reality, Marie had fallen to the floor, sobbing over the puddle of Ink that was where Ix once was. Everyone had fallen silent. No gunfire, no explosions, no bodies being sliced into a billion pieces. Nothing.

"Hey guys! We finally got them all-" Ty ran into the area, then immediatly slammed the brakes on his feet as he saw the silent group "What...what happened?"

Marie said something, but nobody was unable to understand a single 'word' of what she said. Finally, Callie stood up.

"Something, we don't know what...came from the sea at an incredible velocity. It hit Rem and sent her into the wall of the pier...she fell into the ocean. Ix then jumped in front of it and was killed on contact." She said sadly, looking down the whole time.

"I can bring them back!" Ty protested, beginning the beacon, but was then interrupted by Leonidas' sword at his throat.

"You'll go insane. You'll kill us ALL." He snarled.

Ty stopped the beacon, lowering his arms in defeat "Huh?" A small purple light in the sky above Inkopolis caught his attention. It began to grow in size, getting more and more intense by the second. It then released a shockwave which ripped up anything below it and sent glass falling to the streets below. The group at the pier were sent back a few feet, Leonidas holding onto Hanako tightly.

"What the...?" He looked at the ground in astonishment as the small pieces of scattered debris began to float up, then shot upwards towards the light "No..." Leonidas gasped slightly "It's...a black hole!" The instant he said it, light itself began to get sucked towards the now officialy labelled black hole. It increased in size with everything it absorbed. Ty suddenly fell, completely limp.

"Dad!" Hanako reached out for him, barely managing to grab his wrist. With Leonidas' help, she managed to pull him back towards them.

"What the shit is happening!?" Jack then ran over, his voice slightly muffled by the sword in his mouth.

"I don't know! But all I do know is that" Leo pointed to the swirling mass of clouds in the sky around the void "is a black hole!"

"My CHILDREN are in there!" Jack hissed, leaping up to the top of a building, chaining the jumps together to get to the void suspended in the sky.

"Jack!" Callie yelled after him. She looked to the rest of the group, her tentacles flapping in the incredible wind "I'm going, too!" Her aura flared up as she flew after Jack.

 **With the sudden death of Rem and Ix and the creation of a black hole above Inkopolis, this seems like certain doom for the entire Galaxy! Can Rem and Ix combat Danja? And can Jack and Callie find and destroy the source of the black hole? Find out in the final arc of SPLAT X 2!**


	33. Like a flood of pain

**Narrators POV**

"Whoaaa!" Callie yelled as she found herself and Jack falling through a black void, herself flailing her arms. Jack remained calm as he fell, though he would be gritting his teeth the whole way if he didn't have to use his mouth to hold his sword. They eventually landed on a large metal strip, a loud CLANG sounding as Jack impacted the floor, creating a large dent in it. Callie looked around, seeing pieces of the metal flying past the alone duo in the black void around them.

Jack tapped a small button on his upper jaw "Not what I was expecting." His voice now came from a radio on his chin. He looked over to Callie, who was staring around in awe, slightly scared "Callie." She spun to him when he said her name "Look." Jack turned to face further down the strip, seeing something large speeding towards them "Get ready, it could be a hostile." What was heading towards them was a large mechanical being, large purple cracks over it.

"What is that?" Callie asked, raising her guard.

"FEAR...ME...I...AM...DANJA..."

 **Rem's POV**

"THIS IS MY PERFECT FORM!" Danja screamed in his maniacal laughter, he now had various spikes from different places across his head, his skin now turned red with pure deep purple eyes. He was now wearing a set of spiked armour that covered his whole body "What do you think, scum? Not bad, if I do say so myself." He smirked, checking out his new appearance.

"I've had enough!" Ix snarled, a purple aura erupting from him "Who do you think you are, anyway!?"

"No, Ix! Wait!" I shout to him as he blasts at Danja, slamming his fist into his exposed forehead.

He gasps "What?" Then proceeds to try and kick Danja, who just vanishes, then appears again and slams Ix, sending him into the ground. I quickly pull him out, dusting him off.

"We can't fight him alone, idiot." I scold him, giving him a light slap to the back of his head "I have an idea, but we're gonna need a distraction." I clench my fist, flames seeping through the gaps between my fingers "Remember how to do _that_?" I ask. Ix frowns, looking down.

"Yeah...all too well..." He sighs.

"Now isn't the time, Ix!" I scowl, throwing a small fireball to the ground. It turns to a small pillar of flame then forms into a flaming demonic wolf "This can hold him for long enough, come on, let's go." I beckon him with a flick of my hand, flying off. He looks at the demonic wolf for a second, then flies after me.

Danja hovers down in front of the snarling wolf "Feh, looks like I can get a brief test of my powers."

Me and my brother land on a small plateu not too far away, we can still see Danja fighting, but we have plenty of time...I hope "Ready?" I ask, standing a few paces to Ix's right.

"Ready." He sees, holding his two arms out to his left, myself mirroring his actions as we arch our hands over our hands "Fu..." we put our hands back to where they originally were, one knee pointing out to the opposing side of them "...sion..." We put our index fingers together "HA!" Wait, why am I even describing this to you? You should know what the Fusion Dance is. If you don't, then come back once you look it up, okay?

You back? Ok, good, let's continue.

The flashing lights quickly caught Danja's attention as a yellow orb formed between me and Ix, which then immediatly began to grow in size until it covered the entire plateau.

 **Narrator's POV**

"Out of my way, mutt!" Danja yelled, kicking his opponent into a crevice, the light from the firey explosion visible on the upper walls. Danja lept over to a platform close to where the lights were coming from, watching them intently.

Soon, the light died down, revealing a tall Inkling with incredibly spiked hair that added a foot or so to his 5'11", it looked more human than Inkling. The majority of it was blue, though there were a few orange streaks round the back of it. He had a black open vest with golden pads that revealed most of his torso, white baggy trousers with a belt of fabric wrapped around the waist, a small bit dangling off the side. On their feet were tall, black boots with red trails. They opened their eyes and revealed their jade irises, looking over to Danja.

"Who are you?" He frowned, pointing to the new fighter.

The new being didn't answer, a mysterious force suddenly slamming into Danja. A few seconds later, it was revealed to be the new fighter. They kickflipped off Danja and landed on the ground as he kept sliding across the ground. He yelled, teleporting back in front of his opponent.

"WHAT are you!?" Danja yelled in shock, taking a few steps back.

"I am Remix." The new fighter spoke, his voice like that of Rem and Ix speaking in unison "And I am here to kill you."

 **Incredible! Rem and Ix have fused into one single fighter! Will they prevail against Danja and save the Galaxy? Or is Danja's new Perfect form too strong for even the combined powers of Rem and Ix? Find out in the battle to end all battles, only on Splat X 2!**


	34. Pouring down on me

**Jack's POV**

What I presume is a machine is now right in front of us, towering over us. It's face is unrecognisable, being a mess of flesh and facial organs. Its body is a metal skeleton, itself connected to a large cracked orb, purple lights seeping out of cracks across its whole body "Any ideas, Callie?" I ask the girl beside me.

"N-No...I don't even know what it's supposed to be." She shakes her head, taking a few steps back.

"I am...the core...of darkness..." This 'Core' thing speaks in a garbled voice. Hold on a sec, that thing has my arms sticking out of it! Though I don't know what I'm going to do about it...arms or not, we're taking this thing out.

"Come on, Callie, let's finish this." I nod to her, running towards the Core. She soon follows, charging pink energy in her hands as she followed. Core let out a slightly intimidating screech of sorts, flinging chunks of metal towards us. I easily sliced through all of them, even with the sword in my mouth.

"Dead on!" I yell, slamming into the large orb of Core, sending it flying away with a loud screech. As I hit it, one of my arms flies off and glides through the air, an electric tether connecting it to where it should be on my arm. It then shot towards me, slamming itself into position "Aw yeah..." I take the sword out of my mouth, now able to speak out of it instead of the radio.

 **Remix's POV**

Danja suddenly yells out in pain, clutching his head. I immediatly use this oppurtunity to attack him, creating various dents all over his body. I grab his head, throwing him over my shoulder. He gets back up and slams his head into my stomach, sending me back a few feet. I smirk, looking up at him.

"Well that's a pretty big shit eating grin if I ever saw one..." Danja remarks, wiping a patch of blood away from his lips. I don't reply, only charging at him. He catches both of my light speed punches, leaving me a bit shocked for a second but I quickly recover, jumping, grabbing his wrists and pushing my feet into his chest.

"Forgot to do some stretching. Wouldn't wanna pull a muscle, now would I?" I ask, laughing slightly at my own joke. Danja scowls at me, managing to get me off him somehow. He roars to the sky, a large pink aura surrounding him and kicking dust up into the air "Every bit of energy you produce has an echo. This will be your end." I say with a stern look. Danja stops powering up, looking at me with a confused face. I dissapear from his sight, appearing behind him and pushing my arm down on his neck. He starts gagging, desperatly trying to get me off him He succeeds when he slams his elbow into my gut. I release him, taking a few steps back and catching the air he force out of me "Heheh, not bad."

"I'll make you regret screwing with me." Danja snarls, vanishing into the ground.

"Hm?" I look down when a pile of rocks starts to clump together in front of me. Danja erupts from the ground, delivering an incredible uppercut to my face. He lands, smiling in triumph "Hahah," I look back down, the attack not even fazing me "That one hurt. A little." I wipe the blood from scratch he gave me away. I appear in front of him, catching him off guard and backflipping, slamming my foot into his jaw. I land on my hands, throwing myself into him headfirst. I launch an energy blast point-blank, sending him hurtling away. I charge up energy around me, speeding underneath him as he flies through the air. I shoot up and slam into him, volleying him about in the air before finishing the combo with a kick downwards. He crashes into the ground, creating a large crater.

"Chaos Control!" I hear him yell, the sound of him vanishing entering my ears. He can use Chaos Control!? I barely have time to process what's going on before he slams his feet into my back, sending me into the crater. I quickly roll over and kick the large ball of energy he sent after me back up at him. He dodges it, firing a few smaller shots at me, though I easily deflect all of them.

"Take this!" I fire a blast of my own at him like a shot put. It sails through the air, splitting into several other smaller pieces which home in on him. He deflects a few but is hit by the majority of them. I shoot a few more blasts at him, filling the air with smoke, several small rocks on the ground being sent flying by the shockwaves. He then suddenly teleports in front of me, hoisting me up by my throat.

"Played College Ball, ya know." He remarks, holding me over a cliff. Clearly, he's forgotten I can fly.

"At some cushy excuse for a league school!" I growl, putting one foot on his face, managing to break free of his grip and falling down for a second before I grab the cliff. It crumbles, both of us getting into a fist fight as we fall. Surprisingly, we land in some liquid. Either the rules of Inkling nature don't apply to me, or this is some form of ink. Either way, Danja can move about incredibly swiftly.

"Come on, try and hit me!"He remarks, swimming in a figure 8 pattern. I reach behind me, as if there was some kind of weapon there. I materialise a spear out of pure energy, though it's curled up like a whip. I flick it violently, turning it into its full spear. I thrust it forwards, showboating a bit as I flip it around. I wait until he's in the perfect position and stab him through the chest, flinging him out of the liquid and several hundred miles into the air. I blast out of the liquid after him, tossing my spear up as I arrive level with him. I then form claws from my hands, swiping madly at him and covering his body in scars, ending it by kicking him down with a ton of force. I then catch my spear as it comes back down, blasting after Danja, spear held out in front of me.

He hits the ground with a loud bang and enough speed to bounce slightly. He then sees me zooming down towards him "HYAAAAH!" I scream as I plunge the spear into him, huge chunks of ground being ripped from the earth for miles around when I impact the ground.


	35. The Finale?

**Jack's POV**

There's something else attack Core, but we can't see it. It looks like it's being stabbed with something is all I can tell.

"I WILL...KILL...ALL...OF YOU..." It's speaking a bit faster, as if it's desperate. We're winning...I think. I jump to a floating piece of debris, slamming my feet into Core again.

"Callie! Get it!" I shout. Callie immediatly jumps up, using my back as a platform for extra air time.

"Take this! HAGH!" She screams as she rockets towards Core feet first. She slams into the orb covered with cracks, making Core scream in agony as my lost arm detaches itself from Core and slams itself back onto me "I...I think we got it." Callie lands nearby. Core then vanishes in a blinding flash of light.

"Wh-what!?" I gasp as the flash fades, a portal of some sort forming where Core once was. Everything then began to tremble, reality itself seemingly being ripped apart "Callie! Get into the portal!" I bark as I leap over to it, letting it suck me inside. I don't know if Callie got into it in time...

 **Remix's POV**

Once the smoke clears, I see that my spear his gone straight through Danja's chest, his odd blood covering a small area around him. I remove the spear from him, stepping off him as I dissipate the spear into nothing. The instant I do, however, Danja begins to get back to his feet. I instantly raise my guard.

"Heheh, you're not half bad." He hisses, covering the hole in his chest with his hand "But...you know what happens if I destroy the Earth?" He glares up at me, a malicious grin on his face "That's right. I'll destroy this realm! And you with it!" He laughs maniacally, vanishing into thin air. After he vanishes, a small portal appears where he once stood. Without hesitation, I blast into it.

*Inkopolis*

On the other side of the portal is a city covered in a purple light. I luck up and see a spinning vortex above the city. But it's slowing down...I think.

"Rem!? Ix!? Is that you?!" I hear someone gasp. I turn around and see a small group of Inklings staring at me in shock.

I smirk and cross my arms "Yes and no." Is my only respone.

"What do you mean- WHOA!" There's a sudden tremor, shaking the very city to its core. I look back to the black hole and see it's frozen in the air, not moving. Nothing is. The wind doesn't blow, the clouds don't budge. The frozen void then begins to crack, purple streams of light coming from within it. The void then bursts, causing a shockwave that sends debris hurtling through the air and into the ocean behind us.

"I will...kill...all of you!" Danja's voice echoes from the sky. I can sense him charging an energy attack. This one seems big, I can tell. I begin to charge an energy attack of my own, a ball of energy appearing between my palms. With a maniacal laugh, Danja throws the now incrediblely large ball of energy down to the planet, putting all his strength into forcing it down. I fire the attack I had been charging, chunks of earth being ripped out of the ground as it's launched, the tops of any yet to be destroyed buildings being ripped off and sent hurtling down to the ground. The whole sky's gone dark, the only sound is the howling of the wind and the roaring of the energy attacks colliding.

"I gotcha!" A voice says next to me. I look to my right and see a cyborg Inkling charge and fire an energy beam attack of his own. It clashes with the large purple orb in the sky, creating more ripples in the orb, beginning to push it back to Danja. However, his laughs only increase as he fires more smaller orbs into the larger one, the largest one only increasing in size with each orb that made contact.

 _"Gah...he's too strong!"_ The voice of the cyborg next to me appears in my mind _"We just need more-HUH!?"_ He suddenly looks over to my left and sees a female Inkling with light green ink, a squash headband, striped tee and blue slip-ons, she was firing a beam attack of her own "Maria!?"

"Hey, Ripper." She smiles to 'Ripper' then looks at me, only smiling. She then looks back at the attack she's firing herself "TOGETHER!" with a united "HAAAA!" the three energy beams merge into one, annihalating Danja's attack, an incredible scream of fear coming from him as he watches the huge beam hurtle through the air up towards him. It collides with him and sends him rocketing through space towards the sun, screaming the whole way.

"I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS! REMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIX!" He yells mere seconds before he makes contact with the surface, being vaporised into nothing as an explosion blasts off the Sun into space, lasting for a few seconds before fading.

 **Narrators POV**

The darkness in the sky fades, sunlight finally touching the planet once more. Remix falls to his knees, gasping for air, but laughing the whole time. Maria runs over and pulls him up, hugging him "Yeah, I missed you, too." Remix smiles weakly. Reality suddenly cracked around Remix, a slight flash of light as he's replaced with Rem and Ix, who originally look a bit dazed, but they recover from that and return the hug Maria was giving them. Jack smiles as he slowly walks over to them, Maria giving him a playful look.

"Come here, you." She smiles. Jack rolls his eye, putting one arm around Maria.

"I'm so proud of you two." Maria spoke softly to Rem and Ix, keeping her iron grip wrapped around them "You know that, right?"

"Heheh, of course we do." Rem smirked, one eye closed.

"Ix...you look so different." Maria looked at her son, who seemed to be half asleep. He didn't answer, only burying his face into his mother's shoulder.

*3 Days later*

Leonidas was stood on a collection of rocks over looking the sea, which was tinted orange from the evening Sun. He had his arms crossed with the tentacle that covered his eye flapping gently in the wind. He looked at this right hand, seeing it begin to glow yellow slightly. He looked down behind him and saw the note he had left for Hanako, then down at his chest, seeing the pearl necklace round his neck. He smiled as he closed his eyes, a golden glow enveloping him "I'll be back. I promise." With that, he turned into a collection of particles that faded into the air.

*2 Weeks later*

The whole city of Inkopolis was throwing a celebration, though there were a few parts of the city that were still in the dark, the sound of construction devices could be heard near them, though. But the main focus was on the plaza, where the Squid Sisters were performing on a large stage with a crowd big enough to cover the entire plaza. Once the duo had finished, Callie held up her hand, the crowd going silent "Now, I know most of you know about a certain pair of Inklings, right?"

The crowd was silent, waiting for Callie's usual session of hyping it up.

"Well, for the first time EVER! I present to you, Rem and Ix!" She and Marie ran off the stage as it went dark, the crowd roaring in applause. Two large pillars of flame burst from the stage, the siblings appearing in their armour behind the flames.

*Ty and Vybe's apartment*

"You sure about not coming, Hanako?" Vybe asked the pink haired Inkling, who was watching the festivities from afar.

"Yes, I'm sure Mom."

"Well, if you say so. Just keep an eye on the kids, will you?" Ty pointed to the direction of the bedroom of the three young squishies before he closed the door. Hanako smiled, stepping out onto the balcony. A shadow then appeared in front of her on the railing, arms crossed. A scabbard strapped to their back.

"Kept you waiting, huh?" They lowered their hood, revealing Leonidas' battle scarred face.

"Too long." Hanako pulled him down from the railing and straight into a kiss. It lasted a few seconds before the sound of crying broke the air, the couple parting and looking over to the source of the crying.

"They always know how to ruin the moment..." Leonidas frowned.

*Inkopolis Plaza*

Rem threw herself onto a seat backstage, wiping her forehead "My god...that was amazing."

Ix was lying on a sofa nearby, staring up at the ceiling "Yeah, tell me about it. Guess it was all worth it in the end, huh?"

Rem simply smiled, looking to the stage as Callie and Marie were performing.

"Hey, Rem." Ty suddenly appeared next to Rem, making her jump slightly "Oh, sorry. Heh. I found these when digging through a few files" He handed her a folder "thought you might be interested." With that, he dissapeared once more. Rem shrugged as she pulled out the contents of the folder. Inside were several papers about something called 'Project J815'

There were various pictures of two Inkling eggs, the names Tenta and Tek would pop up from time to time. One of the pictures showed two female Inklings that seemed to be slightly younger than Rem. But they looked like...Octolings. They had large suckers on the outsides of their tentacles instead of the inside, two smaller tentacles down their back. Their eyes seemed to be a mix of the eyes of both species. But then Rem saw something that filled her with shock. Enough to make her faint.

Their last names.

Altezio.

* * *

 **From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different. Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.**

 **The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity – in all this vastness – there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.**

 **The Earth is the only world known, so far, to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment, the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.**

* * *

 **...**

 **...**

 **...You didn't think it was over, did you?**

 **...**

 **...Fool.**

 **IT'S.**

 **NEVER.**

 **OVER.**


	36. Assassin's Splat

**Rem's POV**

Oh...jesus...my head...What even happened last night? All I can remember is reading those documents and then - then I passed out. I don't really know what's going on around me, whether I'm in some sort of void or somethinng else, but it's really confusing.

"Hello...murderer." I spun around and saw a blood soaked Ty standing behind me, a large piece of metal sticking firmly out of his forehead. I immediatly create fire in my hads, glaring him down "I don't know why you're thinking of fighting me. I'll beat you and you know that."

I don't answer, standing my ground, keeping a firm glare on him. We began to circle on another, neither of us letting up the staring game.

"You'll lose." Ty smirks.

"Shut up, thief." I scowl at him, clenching my teeth together.

"Am I really the thief here? You've stolen thousands of lives away, Rem." Ty frowned, shaking his head. He then suddenly lunged at me, the picture of that demonic face burned into my vision as I suddenly bolted awake, finding myself back in my bedroom. Another nightmare...that's the third one since we defeated Danja, I need to get these things sorted out somehow. A sudden knock at the door made me jump slightly, quickly snapping to face it.

"You awake, Rem?" Callie asks from the other side of the door.

"Yeah." I simply reply as I rub my eyes with my arm, groaning slightly.

"Oh, ok. Breakfast is downstairs." She says cheerily before I hear her footsteps heading down the hallway. I slowly get out of bed, grabbing my glasses and clumsily putting them on. I walk over to the wardrobe and lazily pick out some clothes. A tank top that reads 'I AM THE HYPE' that reveals most of my cleavage, baggy grey trousers and pink trainers. I quickly headed downstairs, finding Ix waiting in the Kitchen.

"Hey, Sis." He simply nods at me then goes back to tapping the screen on his phone.

"Hey." I reply, grabbing the plate of waffles and sitting down next to him "On Squidbook?"

"Yeah." Is all he says, not looking away from the screen, though he pulls the white inky rider he has on up slightly, bringing his shoulders up, making a slight groaning noise.

"What's up?"

He doesn't reply. I put a hand on his shoulder "Huh?" He looks at me, his face filled with confusion.

"Is anything bothering you?" I shake him ever so slightly, leaning forward a bit. He looks down to the floor, sighing "Ix?"

"It's just...I really miss Mum. She was certainly happy, especially with those two that were with her. Splin and Sharq, were they?" He frowned, putting his phone down and keeping his eyes on the floor.

"Yeah, that was their name. Besides, I think we're going to see her again soon." I smile.

He looks back up at me, his face covered in both shock and confusion "What do you mean?"

"Well" I remove my hand from his shoulder, leaning back in the chair "Ty was kind enough to help me out when looking for Tenta and Tek. Remember them?"

"Yeah."

"Well, we found them...sorta. See, they're not in this universe. They're in the universe that Splin and Sharq are in."

"H-How did you even find that out?"

"Long story. Anyway, they're developing a teleporter of sorts to help us get there and hopefully find Tenta and Tek." I put my hands on the back of my head, but there's a sudden loud rip the instant I do, which makes Ix begin to laugh nervously "YOU SAW NOTHING!" I scream, covering my chest as I run back upstairs. Why did I even chose this one!?

 **Narrator's POV**

*Several days later*

"So just to remind you: THIS button" Ty points to a glowing red button on the white sphere with teal lights that he was holding up to Rem and Ix "Is what activates the Tele-Orb." He spun it round slightly to something like a calculator "Here's where you input your destination. You remember it, right?" He looks Rem dead in the eye.

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Pretty sure I wrote it down." Rem fakes a smile, tightening her fist slightly.

"If you say so. I wish you luck on your journey." Ty smiled, handing the Tele-Orb over to Rem, quickly leaving.

"Ready, Ix?" Rem turns to her brother, who simply nods "Alright, then!" Rem spun the orb to the calculator "Universe 6. Huh, there's a date, too. I think..." Rem quickly punched in some numbers, the Tele-Orb giving off an incredible light, then zapping Rem and Ix with electricity, dissapearing along with them.

*London, 1868*

The siblings arrived in the middle of a bustling town filled with people in very odd attire, something they weren't used to "This is...odd. I didn't think this is-" Rem stopped mid-sentence "These aren't Inklings. They're humans."

"Ya think? Besides, check that out." Ix pointed across the street to a large steam train, chugging along the tracks "Before we leave, I wanna check that out." He lept off the street, chaining jumps together on horse carriages or the heads of people just going about their business.

"Ix! Wait up!" Rem lept over the whole crowd in one move, grabbing onto the side of the train and pulling herself into the open cargo box. Inside, Ix was rummaging around in some boxes "What are you doing?"

Ix looked up from the boxes. He was wearing a long black jacket with a hood and a red undershirt. He had gauntlets on his hands and reinforced leather trousers, along with dark brown boots "I found this. I'm looking for one in your size." He went back to rummaging through the boxes, soon pulling out one that looked perfect for his sister "Here." He tossed it over to her, Rem expertly catching it and evaluating it for a few seconds.

"I don't see why not." She shrugged, thinking the set of clothes onto her body, her previous clothes dissapearing into the void between her breasts.

The siblings were then startled by a loud banging at a door at the end of the car "Who's in there!? Open up!"

"Time to bail!" Rem grabbed Ix, jabbing the correct number in this time, the two vanishing a split second before an tall british male slammed the door open.

"Ah, damnit, they messed up the cargo!" He scowled, returning the outfits to their boxes.

*Universe 6, Inkopolis, Year Unknown. Seriously PLT, I need a year here.*

"Back off!" Maria scowled, standing in front of Splin and Sharq, who were backed up against a wall.

"You saw what they did! That's MY Sea Snail!" An Inkling with deep purple hair raised his fist threateningly, Maria not reacting at all.

"Salty is ours, for crying out loud!" Splin yelled back, only getting a death stare from the purple haired Inkling.

Unknown to the group, Rem and Ix were watching the whole thing from the shadows nearby. Ix put up his hood, slowly walking towards the purple haired Inkling. He tapped the Inkling on the shoulder, quickly slamming his fist into the Inkling's face the instant they turned around.

"Wh-Who are you?" Maria lowered her guard, tilting her head slightly.

Ix looked to his mother, lowering his hood "Betcha didn't expect to see me again, huh?"

 **Sorry this one took so long. Stuff...uh...happened, regarding the SU. Anyway, thanks Pizza Loving Turtle for letting me use his universe and characters. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go yell at Nintendo for not giving us EU players our Splatfest. Dread out!**


	37. Reunited

"I-Ix? I-I-Is it really you?" Maria stammered, taken aback.

"How many other Ixs are there?" Ix smiled, Maria suddenly lunging for him, almost crushing him in her iron grip.

"My precious baby! I missed you so much!" She was crying tears of joy as she hugged him, Ix slowly putting his arms around her, too.

"Yeah, I missed you, too." He said softly, a bit embarrased.

"Is your sister here?" Maria moved back from Ix slightly, but kept her iron grip on him.

"Right here." Rem appeared beside them, lowering her own hood, quickly being pulled into the hug by her mother "Heh...yeah, I missed ya."

"Uh..." Splin finally said, arms crossed "Are these your kids?"

Maria released her children, turning back to Splin and Sharq "Heh, yeah. Rem, Ix, these are Splin and Sharq. Splin and Sharq, these are Rem and Ix."

"Hey." Ix puts his hands in his pockets, nodding.

"Hey." Sharq says, slightly unsure.

"So...you adopt these two?" Rem looks to her mother, who laughs at that.

"No. I think it's more like they adopted me." She replies, smiling at the two youngsters.

 _"How is that even possible?"_ Splin mouthed, raising an eyebrow.

"Hang on, how did you even get to this universe? From the looks of it, you don't have a Tele-Cube of any kind." Sharq gave them a questioning look, tilting his head slightly.

"Ah, that'll be because of-" Rem turned around holding out her hand, waiting for the Tele-Orb to float down above it "The...Tele...Orb...Ix, where did it go?"

Her brother simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Great." Rem rolled her eyes "Guess that's the third thing we need to look for."

"Third?" Maria asked, hands behind her back.

"Oh, right. See, we're looking for some people." Rem pulled the folder out of nowhere once more "Here." She handed it to Maria, who quickly read through it. She didn't react much, but Rem saw a tear or two fall down her cheek "Mum? You ok?"

"Y-Yeah...I'm fine..." Maria wiped her nose with her arm, handing the folder back to her daughter who returned it to the void. There was a brief silence as Maria recollected herself "Ah...anyway, we know someone who might know where they are."

*Octo Valley, 10 minutes later*

"You two are back again, huh?" An Octoling guard frowned as Splin and Sharq arrived at the stronghold "Tai, right? I'll get her for ya." She held a radio to her mouth "Splin and Sharq are here, they want to see Tai." She put the radio away, the large doors opening soon after, a single Octoling walking out.

"Hey, you two! What's up?" She greeted the brothers as she walked up to them.

"Heh, well, Maria's actual children have shown up and...they need some help." Splin looked behind him, seeing the hooded pair of siblings watching from the shade.

"Wh-What!? They're REALLY here!?" Tai gasped, a large smile on her face "Oh my god, I really wanted to meet them! Are they, like, right here?"

"Yeah." Is Splin's reply, smiling nervously "They say they're looking for some Inklings with modified DNA called Tenta and Tek." He gave her a picture of the two. Tai observed it for a few seconds, then handed it back.

"I know where one of them usually is." She nodded, her voice now serious.

"Where?" Rem appeared out of the shadows to Tai's right, causing her to leap back, yelping a bit "Calm down, I'm not here to fight." Rem lowered her hood, revealing her face "So where is she?"

Tai stared at Rem for a few seconds, looking her up and down "You're certainly..." She looked at her chest, then back to her face "...big."

"I get that a lot." Rem sighed in irritation "But where do they usually hang out? This is really urgent."

"Follow me, but I reccomend you keep your hood up. Just to be safe..." Tai scratched the back of her head, turning to the door, which slowly began to open. Rem put her hood up, the shadow covering her face. Ix walked up beside her, his face obscured, too.

"Was she fangirling over us?"

"Yeah."

"First time an Octoling has done that..." Ix said quietly to himself as they followed Tai and the brothers through the halls, constantly getting odd looks from other Octolings and Octarians. Eventually, they found themselves in a large room with a huge pit with seemingly no bottom, though several large pillars came from the inky darkness below.

"She doesn't like too many visitors at once. Splin, Sharq, come with me." Tai left the room quickly, motioning her hand for the brothers to follow.

"Uh, good luck, you two!" Sharq waved as him and his brother left the room, a door slamming shut behind them.

The siblings lowered their hoods, slowly looking around the large room "I know this place is huge, but you'd expect to see someone in here, even all the way over there." Ix pointed to the opposing wall "I don't see any bridges or platforms, either. We would clearly see her on one of these pillars."

"Who are you? Why are Inklings here?" A voice suddenly echoed off the walls, Rem and Ix immediatly raising their guards "A voice. How shocking. You should know I'll only hurt you if you do anything stupid."

"There!" Rem pointed to the left wall, seeing a shadowed Octoling like figure hanging off it, feet pressed against the wall.

"Found me already, eh?" The Octoling leapt off the wall, landing next to the siblings without making any noise "Your names?"

"Uh..." Rem blinked a few times to take in what she was exactly seeing. Whichever one of those two she was, she looked vastly different from the picture. Instead of two tentacles with Octoling suckers, she had four main tentacles, the front two like an Inkling's and the rear two like that of an Octoling. She was also taller than either of them anticipated, standing a few feet above Rem's height. She wore the regular Octoling Armour, but with black steel and a red vest, her boots were a deep blue "Rem. This is my brother Ix." Rem pointed to herself, then her brother.

The Octo-Inkling bent over slightly, looking Rem dead in the eye questioningly "Hmm...now that I think about it...your names sound familiar." She stood back up straight, walking around Rem in circles a few times, inspecting everything about her, stopping in front of her once more and pushing her own large breasts against Rem's, staying there for a few seconds as Rem slowly reached for her hood, only for the Octo-Inkling to pull back "Must be coincidence. My name is Tek."


	38. Sort of minor changes

"What's your last name?" Rem asked, pointing to Tek confused with a drooped finger.

"Altezio. Why?" Tek put her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"It's really you..." Rem's went quiet as she said that, her face covered in awe, shock and disbelief.

"What do you mean 'it's really you'?" Tek frowned, giving Rem an accusing look.

"It's a really, really long story." Rem shrugged.

"I have a lot of time on my hands. Octavio doesn't tell me what to do." Tek folded her arms, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Well, about 17 years ago now..."

*One really long story that I can't be bothered to write later*

"That's a lot." Tek was now sitting on the floor, facing Rem and Ix "How are you certain that we're related, though?"

Rem didn't speak an answer, only pointing to her chest, then Tek's then her and Ix's eyes and back to Tek's eyes "There's also this." She took the folder out of the endless void and handed it to Tek, who read through it at an incredible speed.

"I see." Tek handed it back to Rem "Well, I believe you...but I don't think Tenta will. She's a bit...difficult." Tek sighed, shaking her head.

"What do you mean?" Ix piped up.

"UHAHAHAHA! THE KRAKEN! THE KRAKEN WILL DEVOUR YOU ALL!" Tek suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs, throwing her head back as she laughed "Kind of like that."

"Uh..." Was all Rem and Ix could muster, Rem backing away slightly.

"She likes the Ocean. More specifically, oil rigs. Now, if you'll excuse me" Tek pulled a manga out of her own cleavage "I have a book to finish." She lept over to a distant pillar, sitting down and beginning to read.

 _"So she has that, too..."_ Rem thought.

"Coming, Sis?" Ix had his hand on the handle of the door, looking back to his sister.

Rem snapped out of her thoughts, shaking her head and facing Ix "Uh, yeah, let's go."

The siblings were surprised to see Splin and Sharq already waiting for them outside the door "Well?" Splin asked.

"Uh, well, she's...very different from what we expected. She said that Tenta likes to hang out somewhere near oil rigs." Rem scratched the back of her head, a small bit of pain coming from the smaller tentacles she had _"Ow...what is up with them?"_

"And she's not coming out, is she?"

"No. She said she had a book to finish. She probably has some other things to do, too." Rem shrugged.

"Well, you got something." Splin looked at the door, which was still open a slight bit. He saw a single eye of Tek's leering through before she slammed it shut completely "You ok?" He looked back to Rem after seeing her reaching for the smaller tentacles on the back of her head.

"Agh, they're aching a bit..." She grunted, squeezing them slightly, but that only sent more pain through her "Damnit! I forgot those ones were sensitive, too..." She looked around at the three males watching her, giving the whole scenario an awkward kind of atmosphere "Uh..." Rem managed to spot a nearby vent with 'EMERGENCY EXIT' labelled above it. She quickly darted through it, leaving the three to stare at her exit.

"So...is your Saltspray Rig destroyed?" Ix looked back to the brother, who then immediatly stared at him in confusion "Long story."

*Later that night*

Maria sighed as she lay on her matress, looking over to Ix, who was asleep on the couch. Snoring, may I add. She looked over to the TV and considered turning it on _"No, that would probably wake everyone up..."_ She thought, slowly closing her eyes as she looked up at the ceiling.

Only to have them slammed open by someone screaming " **OH MY GOD!** "

"Rem!?" Maria immediatly bolted up, a bit confused as to how it hadn't woken the boys up, but ran through the house to find her daughter either way "What's wrong, sweetie!?" She found Rem in her pajamas staring into a mirror in shock, her tentacles had grown and multiplied seemingly thousands of times, reaching down in a V pattern to her ankles. Not only that, she seemed to have grown a few inches. She spun around to face her parent, revealing that she had yet more tentacles draped over he shoulders. Not only that, they were all incredibly thin, looking more like human hair than an Inkling's tentacles.

"Wh-what happened to me...?" The teen was visibly shivering, her hands close together over her chest.

"Oh..." Maria put a hand on Rem's shoulder, looking deep into her eyes, then breaking eye contact and sighing "I told your father to tell you two about this..."

"Wh-What?"

"How do I explain this?" Maria scratched her head briefly "You know how there are several different kinds of Inkling descended from different Squid species, right?"

"Y-Yeah. Callie's a Bigfin Reef Squid, right?" Rem was still shivering, Maria quickly hugging her, which calmed her down.

"Exactly. See, at a certain age, certain varieties of Inklings undergo something called 'reaching maturity' " Maria used air quotes for 'reaching maturity' "Our family is mainly Giant Squids and Northern Shortfin Squids. Judging by your changes, my guess is you're a Giant Squid."

Rem immediatly looked down "Is that why they're so big?" She bounced her unexplainably large breasts a bit.

"No, no. That...runs in the family." Maria laughed quietly to herself "But they might."

Rem let out a small shriek at that. They were big enough already "S-So what about Ix? Is he gonna change?"

"I don't know. He could just be a regular Inkling, a Giant or a Shortfin. Don't think there's any way to tell before it happens." Maria shrugged "If I remember right, I'm a Shortfin myself." She looked down to her tentacles, which were actually shorter than most Inklings of her age "Yeah, I am. There isn't much change to a female."

"Sis? Mum? Why are you two up at-" Ix was suddenly in the doorway, rubbing one of his eyes with his arm "...What happened to you, Sis!?"

"I-I'll explain later. Also, you may want to keep your voice down." Rem gestured in the general direction of where Splin and Sharq slept.

Unknown to those three, the brothers had heard the whole conversation and were now looking at each other nervously "You don't think that might happen to us, do you?" Sharq asked his brother.

"Only if the Voice says so." Is Splin's only reply.


	39. The Kraken is released

Ix was back to sleeping on the couch, his left arm and leg draped over the top of the cushions while his right arm and leg hung off the side. He was still snoring. Rem was sitting next to Maria on her mattress, who was also alseep. Rem was huddled up with her arms folded over her knees. She would occasionally glance down to the mess of tentacles that were strewn out near her, sighing.

 _"I'm gonna need new clothes..."_ She thought, frowning. The lights then turned on in the room, briefly blinding the girl. She looked over to the door once everything was clear, seeing Sharq standing in the door in his usual clothing, looking a bit shocked once he took in Rem's new (and sort of improved) appearance.

"...So that's what happened." He blinked.

"You heard it, huh?" Rem leant back a bit, tilting her head slightly. Sharq nodded "I knew my screaming would wake you all up." Rem sighed "Sorry about that."

"I-It's ok. Nothing major. Do you...want anything for breakfast?" Sharq walked over to the kitchen, his head tracking Rem as he walked past her.

Rem stood up, her usual clothing of her Zekko hoodie, grey trousers and Punk white boots appearing on her, thankfully, they still fit her "Oh thank god they still fit." She sighed in relief, adjusting her hoodie slightly "Uh, do you have any waffles?"

"Yeah, we have waffles." Sharq replied.

"I'll have some of them, please." Rem walked over to her brother as she spoke. She looked at him silently for a second, then kicked him "Wake up!"

"OH MY GOD, SIS!" Ix jumped a few centimetres into the air "The hell is wrong with you!?"

"Stop shouting! I'm trying to sleep!" Maria yelled with one eye open, snarling.

"...You snore, Ix." Rem frowned at her brother, who looked at her lazily.

"I know. Marie already told me." Ix groaned, standing up and stretching, his own clothes magically appearing on him "Wonder how they're doing..."

*Universe 7*

"It's so...quiet without those two." Marie commented as she put her cup of tea back on the table.

"Thank god they haven't hatched, yet." Treble pointed to the ink tank that contained his and Rem's eggs "Would be a nightmare here if they were."

"Ah, I'm sure they're doing just fine!" Callie smiled, being her normal cheerful self "Oh, did you tell them about the whole maturity thing, Jack?" She looked over to the visiting cyborg, who was standing in the corner of the room reading a book.

His head snapped up to face Callie, he looked quite shocked "Uh...no. I didn't." He looked from side to side "Was I supposed to?"

"9 years, Jack. What were you doing in your mind while you were in cryo anyway?" Callie frowned, turning back around.

"I don't remember." Jack shrugged, going back to his book "Besides, I was woken up to a war. I don't think I would have time to really recollect everything I missed in 9 years and inform my kids of maturity." He looked back up from the book "Have either of them hit it yet?"

"No, they haven't. At least not to my knowledge. One of them might have during this trip of theirs." Marie shrugged lightly.

*Universe 6*

"Wow, I forgot how fast you two eat." Maria looked to her children nervously as they ate the plate of food in under a 30 seconds, leaving Splin and Sharq speechless.

"Guess we should be off to Saltspray." Rem quickly stood up, Ix doing the same "Should be back by Lunch." The siblings then dissapeared from the house, only making the young brothers more confused.

"...They train a lot, I guess." Maria said, going back to eating her own breakfast.

*Pacific Ocean, somewhere near Saltspray Rig*

"It's around her somewhere..." Ix observed the mass of water that stretched out below and around them "Hold on, see that?" He pointed to a large shadow swimming around. And I mean it's large. Like, the size of Peace Walker's bipedal mode.

"Yeah." Rem watched it begin to swim in circles, eventually beginning to swim around underneath them "Get ready, Ix. You never know what could happen next."

Just as she said that, the shadow burst from the water.

AND HIS NAME IS JOHN CENA! **DOOT DOOT DOOT DOOOT**

Not really. Instead, an incredibly large machine erupted from the water. It was black with blue accents, eight incredibly long yet thick mechanical tentacles. From what the siblings could tell, it was basically an enormous mechanical Kraken. It fell back down into the water, creating an enormous splash which Rem and Ix quickly flew out of the way of. The pair looked down to the now floating mech behind them, now seeing a large MG on the upper right of it's head.

"It's a Metal Gear..." Rem muttered "Ix, get to safety." She pushed her brother away slightly "This is my fight."

"UHAHAHA! NOBODY GETS AWAY FROM THE KRAKEN!" A maniacal laugh came from seemingly nowhere, Ix looking around for the source "Hello...trespassers." A figure similar to Tek appeared on the Kraken below the siblings, looking up at them.

 **Guess I better explain the whole maturity thing.**

 ***Ahem***

 **It's Puberty 2.0**

 ***Drops Mic***


	40. Rules of Ocean

"You sure you can handle it, Sis?" Ix gave his sister a concerned look.

"Feh, I've fought Peace Walker, RAY and REX." She looked at Ix, a large smirk on her face "Do you know how much it cost Ty and his little army to repare them?"

"Several billion?"

"Two trillion each."

"Well, if you fought three already, then I guess there's no stopping you. Good luck, Sis." With that, Ix flew off into the distance, quickly vanishing on the horizon. Rem looked down to the figure on the Metal Gear, who was grinning back up at her.

"So who are ya!?" Rem shouted down, arms crossed.

"My name is not important right now. You trespassed on my domain, and now, you must face the consequences!" The figure laughed maniacally once more, vanishing as the Kraken whirred into life once more, an incredible roar coming from it "Metal Gear KRAKEN! Destroy her!" Metal Gear KRAKEN then dived into the water, several hundred missiles launching out of it a few seconds later. Rem let herself fall onto them, parkouring from one missiles to the other. Just before she hit the water, she grabbed the last missile, throwing it back into the water, a large column of the liquid bursting up from an explosion.

 _"I wonder..."_ Rem brought up her hand, faint energy sparking from it _"It's worth a shot."_ She put her hands together by her side, charging energy between them "Times ten! KAMEHAMEHA!" Much to her surprise, she succesfully fired a Kamehameha into the ocean, a loud screeching coming from KRAKEN _"So I need to put ten times the effort in...Remember that, Rem."_ She made a mental note of it a split second before KRAKEN erupted from the water, attempting to spear her on its point, Rem dodging it by a few centimetres. She immediatly launched herself into KRAKEN, creating a large dent. Immediatly after, a smaller tentacles wrapped itself around her, though she quickly burst free from it, her hair flapping about as she shook her head "I think this will be fun." She commented, cracking her neck.

"For me, that is! UHAHAHAHA!" The voice came from KRAKEN again. It opened its mouth to reveal several sharp large teeth, which then disconnected and blasted straight towards the flying girl. She kicked a few back, but ended up being struck by a few anyway, a large explosion erupting over the sea.

"Hm, that hurt a bit." Rem sped out of the blast's remains, delivering a deadly combo of punches and kick onto KRAKEN at blistering speeds "Get back down there!" She flew up to the top of KRAKEN, performing a somersault kick, sending it speeding down through the water. A few seconds later, several of the large tentacles came out of the water, surrounding Rem. They opened up into several different pieces, which then began firing a whole variety of ammunition at Rem, from regular bullets to missiles. Rem crossed her arms in an X in front of her face, throwing them out and sending a shockwave of energy out around her. Several of the tentacles exploded while a few others just fell back into the ocean. The flaming girl slumped over in the air slightly, panting "Man...that took a lot out of me..."

She only had a few seconds to catch her breath before she was grabbed by one of the small tentacles once more, which began thrashing her about. It then threw her far into the air, one of the larger tentacles springing out from the ocean and intercepting her. She slammed into it with a loud KANG, forming another large dent. She shook the impact off, flipping out of the dent and proceeding to run straight down it, defying gravity and physics like the badass she is with her hair flowing out majestically behind her. KRAKEN's main body was now visible just below the waves, charging some form of attack "Plasma Cannon...FIRE!" KRAKEN's controller screamed, two large beams of sparking yellow plasma shooting out of KRAKEN's eyes, sweeping across Rem's path, though she easily dodged it.

Rem lept off the tentacle she had been running down, creating two sharp blades on her feet, landing on KRAKEN and backflipping, a horrid screeching noise sounding as she slid down KRAKEN, cutting it clean in two. She landed on a slab of debris nearby, the blades dissapearing.

"That was a the best Metal Gear I've fought. You're pretty good." She watched the two pieces dissapear into the ocean, soon fading to nothing.

"It's sustained worse. I'll be back. Just watch! UHAHAHAHA!" The voice laughed again, then vanished into nothing, leaving Rem to float on the debris.

"I'll be waiting." Rem smiled, sitting down. She put her hair all in front of her, making sure it wouldn't fall into the ocean. She observed her surroundings, still seeing a few pieces of KRAKEN floating around on the water. One piece floated up next to her, which was just small enough to fit in her hand. She carefully picked it up, observing it carefully _"Looks like some sort of AI chip...Well, it's mine, now."_ She stashed it away in her endless void, remaining on the slab of debris for a few more minutes, then stood up and blasted off in the direction Ix left "You better not have gotten yourself trapped in the middle of a Turf War, Ix..."

 **40 FRIKKEN CHAPTERS, BABY! WOO! Thanks to absoloutley everyone for their support, means a lot to me! Uh...don't have anything else to say, really.**

 **OH YEAH! Next EU Splatfest! Pineapples on Pizza, you likey or not? Personally, I love me some Hawaiin Pizza, so you know what team I'm going for. If you end up against someone named Dread on 12th December, then god have mercy on your soul. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go work on some gear- BOMB RANGE UP AGAIN!? THAT DOESN'T EVEN AFFECT SEEKERS!**


	41. Family Fluff

"Huh?" Rem felt her phone buzzing in her pocket as she flew, quickly stopping and pulling it out "Yeah?" She answered and put the phone up to her ear.

"Hey, are you two ok?" Maria's worried voice came from the other end "Callie and Marie just said there's a robot of some kind attacking Saltspray Rig."

Rem looked around, seeing Saltspray in the distance, showing next to no signs of activity. She hesitated before replying "Well, it seems to have gone...whatever it was." _"Please don't have any pictures, media..."_

"Ok then. Once you two are done, I want you straight back here, got it? I don't want to lose my babies for good this time..." Maria sighed, the sound of a door opening was heard in the background "Oh, Splin and Sharq are back. Speak to you later!" With that, she hung up, leaving Rem to float above the ocean on her own.

"I need a break after this..." She sighed to herself, flying towards Saltspray, arriving in a few short minutes. She landed on the small platform at the southern most part of the Rig, though she saw no signs of Ix "Ix!? You here!?" She called out, but got no response. She walked began to walk down the pathway that lead to the two elevators, leaping onto one as it ascended. She eventually saw Ix sitting on the small moving grate platform, staring off into space. She lept up to him, promptly sitting next to her brother "Hey."

"Hey, Sis." Ix nodded, keeping his eyes on the blue stretched out before them, eventually leaning over slightly and resting his head on Rem's shoulder "You're the best sister ever, you know?"

"Ah, thanks Ix." Rem put her arm around him "I could never ask for a better brother than you." The siblings kept staring out into the ocean for almost 20 minutes, Ix almost falling asleep a few times "How is it that you're the one who's always tired? I just fought a Metal Gear, for crying out loud."

"It's a guy thing, Rem. Besides" Ix nudged his sister a bit "You've got kids. You'll be exhausted every day of your life for the next 10 years."

"Pfft, they haven't even hatched yet, Ix. But..." Rem looked down, her smile disspearing "I'm not sure if I'm cut out to be a mother."

"Huh? Wh-What do you mean?" Ix immediatly turned to Rem.

"Ix, I'm away from home more often than not, I don't think I'll ever have time to properly look after them with my lifestyle and a whole bunch of other things." Rem shook her head, then turned it away from Ix.

"Sis, don't be like that. Why don't we ask Mum for advice? She said Dad was away from home a lot, too, being in the army and all." Ix put his hand on Rem's shoulder, smiling gently "Plus, Leo said you were an amazing parent in his timeline. I'm sure that's gonna be the same here."

Rem didn't answer for a few seconds, then looked back at her brother "Thank you, Ix." She quickly hugged him, Ix having to blow a few of her thousands of tentacles out of his face.

"No problem." He returned the hug, the two staying still for a few moments before parting "Come on then." He stood up, cracking his neck then jumping into the air, hovering in front of the platform. Rem nodded, jumping off herself then flying back to Inkopolis, creating a V wave as she went "Hey!" Ix laughed "Get back here!" He immediatly shot after his sister, water being shot into the air behind him.

*Splin and Sharq's home, 15 minutes later*

"There you are, what took you so long?" Maria was waiting for the two outside, leaning against the wall.

"Well, we were out in the middle of the ocean. Even at Supersonic it would take us a while to get back. And we were...talking." Ix put his hands in the pockets of his jersey, gesturing for Rem to step forward, which she did a bit.

"What were you talking about?" Was Maria's almost immediate reply.

Rem looked around "Uh, well, I actually want to ask you something." She saw Splin and Sharq watching from a window "Alone." With that, all males in the vicinity dissapeared. Ix leaving for Inkopolis, presumably to grab some food or new clothes. Splin and Sharq presumably went to watch TV, leaving Rem and Maria to stand outside on their own. Rem awkwardly put her hands in the singular pocket of her hoodie, looking away.

"Rem, what is it?" Maria questioned, her daughter quickly looking back to her "You can tell me anything."

Rem closed her eyes, exhaling loudly "I...I had eggs. A-About 2 or 3 weeks ago, now."

"What!? You did!? Congratulations!" Maria immediatly embraced her, grinning from ear to ear, small tears of joy trickling down her face "You're a real woman, now..."

"I think I became a woman long ago, Mum." Rem smiled as Maria released her "But...I don't really think I'm meant to be a parent...so Ix said to ask you for help." She looked deep into Maria's eyes, nearly pleadingly "Please."

"Well, sister." Maria grabbed Rem's collar, pulling her close to her face "Get ready for some practice you are NOT going to forget for as long as you live." She released Rem, still smirking "Now, what do we do first?" She scanned her surroundings, her eyes falling onto three rocks. She ran over and picked them up, giving them to Rem "Do not drop these." Before Rem could answer, she immediatly began to attack, throwing all kinds of fancy punches and kicks at Rem. When the younger of the two saw her mother's fist darting towards her face, she immediatly dropped all three rocks and caught it, only getting an annoyed groan from Maria and being flipped over onto her back, hitting the ground hard "First Rule of Parenthood: Your kid's safety comes first." Maria bent down over Rem, frowning "Get back up and get them together. We ain't going further until you can keep them in your arms for five minutes! Straight!"

"This is gonna be harder than I thought..." Rem sighed as she picked up the rocks.

"Of course it's going to be hard!" Maria's voice was like that of when she would scold Rem and Ix when they were young "Take that from someone who experienced it first hand!" The instant Rem had the rocks together again, Maria attacked, this time performing various flipping kicks.

"HYAH!" Rem mirrored one of Maria's kicks, their legs clashing and shaking under the forces being applied.

"You still use the Hurricane, huh?" Maria smiled, continuing her assault.

"Well, it's a good move!" Rem lept back from the attacks, often managing to block a few of the attacks.

"Well-" Maria's next move hit Rem's robotic arm, immediatly clenching her teeth in pain "What the hell!?" She got on one knee, rubbing the red spot "Hoodie. Off. Now. I need to see your arm."

"B-But-"

"NOW!"

Rem couldn't argue to that scream, instantly dropping the rocks and removing her hoodie, revealing her black bra, curved torso and the majority of her breasts to the outside, along with her mechanical arm. Maria immediatly went to the arm, inspecting it all over "It's just like your father's...Did Igenous' family have anything to do with this?"

"Well, sort of...See, during the battle with Octron, he managed to blast that arm right off." Rem winced at the memory "Ty and his wife, Vybe, got me a new one, but I had it replaced a while ago."

"I see..." Maria kept looking at the arm, until a black mark around Rem's waist that resembled a large scar.

"Ow...!" Rem flinched when Maria touched it, taking a small step back.

"Plasma burn." Maria frowned, standing back up fully "Why do you exactly have a Plasma burn?"

"Well...remember the robot that was supposedly attacking Saltspray?" Rem grinned nervously.

"Yes?"

"I...kinda...fought it. I kicked it's scrap metal ass, though!" Rem's nervous smile went to one of pride, only to be replaced by a fear when Maria tightly gripped her shoulders.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!? YOU COULD'VE GOTTEN KILLED!" She yelled, Splin and Sharq jumping a bit inside the house from the sudden scream. Maria sighed, releasing Rem "But I guess you had no choice. Come on, I need to keep training you." She stopped after seeing that Rem didn't put her hoodie back on after collecting the rocks one more "You still like having your shirt off outside, don't you?"

Rem's nervous smile returned "I probably wouldn't have this on, if I could..." She pointed to her bra "But let's carry on..." Maria didn't attack, only smiling confidently "...I don't wear it during summer. Happy?"

"Oh I'm sure your mate must be!" Maria laughed heartily, Rem getting an orange blush.

"Well...I sometimes wear a bikini top if I ever have to go out..."

 **AND THUS REM'S DIRTY SIDE HAS BEEN UNVEILED! Sorry if anyone's annoyed by how dirty this has been getting recently, I've been watching the original Dragon Ball a bit. That and Fairy Tail. And no, even I don't expect it to stop any time soon. Sorry! Well, looks like I have to go work on some more gear. And probably get more Bomb Range Up...**

 **Anywho, this is Dread Angel and I am going to pine the SHIT out of your apples on the 12th!**


	42. Destroyed Memories

"What next?" Rem asked, still holding the rocks.

"Hold on, let me get something from inside." Maria dissapeared into the house, leaving Rem to stand alone. After a few minutes of her mother not returning, she put the rocks down and slowly reached for the back of her bra, though her hands immediatly went at lightning speeds to pick the rocks up again once Maria returned "Sorry that took so long. Splin went and got himself stuck under the counter."

"How did he do that?" Rem tilted her head slightly, blinking.

"Don't ask me. He was in there when I got in." Maria shrugged "NOW CATCH!" She spun through the air, throwing the three pillows she had at Rem, who barely managed to catch one of them, holding the rocks in her arm "Tsk tsk. You don't need them anymore." Maria threw the rocks far into Inkopolis, a light in a tower flickering out. She then picked up the pillows, taking the one Rem was holding "In the event your children learn to Super Jump early, you need to be alert in case they try to get away, got it?"

"Uh, yeah-WHOA!" Before Rem could finish, the pillows came flying her way, forcing her to leap about to catch them. She only got two of them, barely catching the second one.

"And you're supposed to be the strongest, eh?" Maria huffed, taking the pillows once more.

"Who told you that?" Rem got ready for the pillows to be tossed at her again, guard raised.

"I figured it out myself. I read your energy." Maria rolled her eyes, getting ready to throw again "Besides!" She spun through the air, blasting the pillows at Rem "Who fights a Metal Gear on their own with almost no weaponry or backup and survives!?"

"I fought three before!" Rem managed to catch all three pillows, landing expertly facing Maria, smiling "It's a wonder why Ty still doesn't fear me like he should."

"You still hate him, huh?" Maria sighed "Are you ever going to get over that, Rem? It doesn't bother me that he got all the glory. I think he deserved it after what he went through."

"You went through worse." Rem frowned, tightening her grip on the pillow.

"That may be what you think, but he's half my age. As are you." Maria crossed her arms, looking at her daughter angrily. A brief pause fell on the two "You hate him for another reason, don't you?"

"Huh?!" Rem snapped back to attention, face covered in shock.

"I said: You hate him for another reason, don't you?" Maria repeated, slightly impatient "Tell me."

Rem dropped the pillows, sighing "He killed...he killed my friends." Maria raised an eyebrow at that "I never told you about it...I guess it was because I didn't understand or I was scared. It was a school trip, pre-school, if that's what they call it. We went to some seaside town."

"Yes, I remember that." Maria nodded "Keep going."

"We went off to the pier. Ty decided to try and push to the front because most of them were excited about a stinking boat." Rem turned away slightly "He pushed two of my friends off...Bass and Mike..." Rem was desperatly trying to not cry, her fist shaking with how tight it was "I was so angry...I almost pushed him off the edge myself...I don't know why I did it if I didn't understand."

*17 Years Ago, Universe 7*

"Ty! You meanie! You pushed them off!" A young Rem screamed, pushing a younger Ty towards the edge.

"But I wanted to see the boat!" Ty protested, pushing Rem himself.

That made Rem mad, her usual lime ink fading between that and orange, what seemed to be a vision of her 18 year old self standing above her, eyes filled with hatred and rage. With a loud scream from the vision, Rem lunged at Ty, ready to end him before anything started, only to be pulled back by some teachers.

"Both of you! Stop it!" One of them yelled "Everyone else, get back to the Bus! Quickly!"

Before the vision of Rem's teenage self faded, she was heard screaming "HE KILLED THEM! HE'S A MURDERER!"

*Present Day, Universe 6*

"He killed them...he's a murderer..." Rem was now sitting down, face buried in her hands, sobbing quietly "He...he killed them..."

"Oh, sweetie..." Maria put a hand on her daughter's back, frowning "Did anyone else get involved? I don't recall ever seeing it on the news."

"No...nobody did. It seemed like nobody cared...all I know is that Bass' Dad killed himself not long after, both of Mike's doing the same only a week later...I think Mike had a brother, too...I don't know what happened to him."

"Do you remember his name at all?" Maria tilted her head slightly.

"No. No I don't...but I think it began with a C." Rem looked away, a few more tears falling down her face.

"Hey..." Sharq said gently, him and Splin now standing in front of the house "Are you two alright?"

"Rem's a bit...upset." Maria hesitated for a brief moment.

"Maria, I think she's not a 'bit' upset. She's crying her eyes out." Sharq pointed to the crying teen "Rem, can we help at all?"

"Thank you, you two...but it's something I think only I can handle." She slowly stood up, walking into the house, leaving Maria and the Bate Bros to stand or sit silently.

"We should probably give her some time to herself." Maria suggested, standing up and scooping up her daughter's hoodie "I'll go put this in the wash, then how about we go for a walk or somethin'?"

"I think it would be best to leave her alone for a while." Splin nodded, his stomach immediatly growling "Guess we should go get some food while we're at it."

*10PM*

Rem was alone, lying on the roof of the small house, wearing nothing on her upper body, staring up at the stars _"I've never seen so many out at once."_ She thought to herself, smiling gently. Soon, she saw a certain spiral galaxy in the sky "Andromeda..." She said quietly, looking back up, only to be greeted by the view of one of the Milky Way's arms, stretching out across the purple-blue sea above her. A cold gust of wind blew at that moment, though it didn't bother the girl, who's small internal fire was burning bright from the wonder she was seeing.

"Sis? What are you doing out so late? And at this temperature, too..." Ix clambered onto the roof wearing his usual clothes, slowly moving towards his sister.

"I just...wanted to think. I recalled something horrible..." Rem frowned, looking down at her bare chest, then back up to the sky.

"The Pier again, right?" Ix sat down next to Rem, legs close to his chin.

"Yeah..." Rem nodded slightly.

"Sis, even in the event you do have to end up in a duel to the death with Ty, I'll finish him if he gets you first." Ix went onto his back, looking up at the stars himself.

"Are you sure about that? I'm the one who has the beef here."

"Sis, you're the person I've looked up to my whole life. I will do anything for you, I promise."

There was a brief silence "Thank you, Ix..."

"No problem. Now I'm freezing, so warm me up." Ix rolled over slightly, putting his arm over Rem "Take me back down when you're done." With that, Ix drifted off to sleep.

Rem smiled, her leg twitching from the pleasure of Ix's arm over her chest. She kicked it with her other foot, the twitching immediatly stopping "And I would do anything for you, Ix..." She said softly, closing her eyes and eventually falling alseep herself.


	43. Tek-eportation

Rem awoke to herself and Ix back inside, lying on the sofa with a blanket over them both. Not only that, her bra and hoodie were back on her, like she never even took them off. She smiled, releasing Ix and then prying his hand off her, carefully stepping over him and onto the floor with as light of an impact as she could.

"It's the middle of the day. You two were out like a light." Maria's playful voice came from straight behind Rem, causing her to jump, spinning around, relaxing once she saw her mother standing in front of her "You're still both so cute when you're asleep."

Rem looked away after that comment, gaining a slight orange blush, which quickly dissapeared, her ears perking up slightly "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Maria tilted her head slightly, arms crossed.

"Some sorta tremor..." Rem remained still, waiting for another one. It never came.

*Universe 7*

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!** " Leonidas screamed at the top of his lungs, electricity sparking around him like crazy, zapping into the walls around him. There were various golden spikes coming off the back of his head, his eyebrows seemingly fading in and out of existence. Eventually, the strain on him was too much, forcing him to give up and revert to his normal form, dropping on all fours, gasping for air and sweating like crazy "Damnit...not again." He stood back up, cracking his knuckles and neck "I was so close that time, I felt it..." He frowned, arms crossed as he stood in the field for a few seconds "I'll reach Super Inkling 3, just watch, Aunt Cal." He smiled, flying back to Inkopolis _"Maybe I should ask Ty to work on one of those gravity training rooms..."_

He soon arrived back at Inkopolis, touching down on the balcony of Ty and Vybe's apartment, casually walking in, only to be pulled over by Hanako, who held him close, giving him a brief sniff "You stink. How do you do that in just 2 hours?"

Leonidas gritted his teeth slightly at that, looking away "Training."

"What do you even DO to train?" Hanako asked, tilting her head.

"Punch Ironwood trees. In the future we use VR now. Used to just mess up pieces of metal." Leonidas shrugged.

"Wouldn't VR only sharpen your mind?" Ty's sudden voice sent the couple into a state of brief alert, returning to normal once they saw him.

"Well, that's useful for someone like me." Leonidas removed a hand from Hanako's side, gently gripping the handle of his blade "Remember?"

"Yes, all too well. I saw what you did to Derik..." Ty grimaced as he remembered running past Derik's sliced body on the way to the beach those few weeks ago "I guess he had it coming, though." He shook his head, looking out across Inkopolis _"Still...doesn't feel like that's the last we'll see of him..."_

*Universe 6*

It was now around the middle of the day, Rem and Ix wandering through Inkopolis on their lonesome. Eventually, Rem spoke up "You think we're going to be able to find Tenta and get home soon? I mean...Squidsmas is coming up."

"You found her already." Tek was suddenly behind them, causing them both to spin around, ready to fight "Easy, easy. Remember when you fought KRAKEN?"

"How did you...?" Rem blinked, raising an eyebrow.

"Doesn't matter. The person controlling KRAKEN _was_ Tenta." Tek frowned "I told you everything and you didn't even remember, did you?"

"Hey, I was fighting a Metal Gear, I don't think I would have time to ask for a name." Rem responded, flicking a few tentacles away from her face. Without any warning, Tek suddenly gripped her shoulders, forcing her against a wall.

"She will attack. Tomorrow. She is insane. We will have no choice but to take her out." Tek put sternly "But, do NOT kill her, unders-" Before Tek could finish, Ix drop-kicked her, knocking her to the floor.

"Sibling or not, nobody hurts Rem." He scowled, clenching his fist.

"Whatever. I'll join you if you struggle at all." With that Tek dissapeared into a puff of smoke with slight cyan ashes, both eventually fading.

"That's new...nobody's ever vanished like that." Rem walked up to Ix, standing beside him.

"Tenta's going to attack Inkopolis tomorrow. We need to remember that, Sis." Ix gave his sister a determined look "After that, we're going straight home...we've caused enough trouble here as it is." A brief silence fell on the duo, broken by Rem beginning to walk once more, Ix soon following "Sis?"

"Yeah?" Rem replied, looking at her brother "What's up?"

"Do you miss anyone back home?" Ix put his hands in his jersey's pockets, looking down the ground.

"Yeah." Rem nodded, looking up at the sky "Wonder what they're up to..."

*Universe 7*

Jack was sat on the edge of a highway, watching cars pass down below him, head resting on his fist. He sighed, looking out to the horizon for a brief moment, then back down to the cars below him, a slight grimace on his face, recalling something that had happened earlier that day.

*Earlier that day*

Jack wasn't doing anything special, just taking a casual stroll through Inkopolis like he would normally do. The peace in his mind was then broken by an alarm sounding from nearby, the sirens of police cars immediatly echoing through the streets. Jack didn't need any more prompts, throwing off his trench coat to reveal his cyborg body, reaching into a void that appeared beside him, pulling his blade out of it. He immediatly sprinted to the direction of the sirens, arriving at a bank robbery. There were several overturned cars, even buses were on their sides. Without hesitiation, he easily lifted up an empty bus with one arm, holding it above his head as he watched the carnage in front of him, Inklings being splatted left and...left _"Those guys are fucking invincible. Guess I need to do something, then."_ He immediatly tossed the Bus at the robbers, causing it to explode, not only killing the thieves, but also destroying part of the bank. And with that, Jack was gone.

*Current time*

 _"Ah...was humorous, though."_ Jack smiled to himself, chuckling softly "Wonder what Rem and Ix would've done...probably would have blown the whole place up, actually!" He laughed out loud, though it was interrupted by a car beeping at him, which he gave an irritated look to the driver, then went back to watching the cars below him.


	44. And so, it begins

"Tenta...? She's going to attack Inkopolis? How? From what Rem told me, the Metal Gear she used is more suitable for water-based transport. Inkopolis is-" Maria stopped immediatly upon remembering the beach at the north of Inkopolis "Oh, no."

"What would she even want to attack for? I get she's insane and all, but there's no value in it..." Ix shrugged, leaning back in the sofa.

"Um, what's a Metal Gear, exactly?" Splin piped up, raising a finger.

"Ok, you know the Skell?" Maria looked over to the brothers, who nodded "Now imagine that, but covered in machine guns, rail cannons and is able to launch Nuclear Bombs. THAT'S a Metal Gear." Maria said firmly, neither brother bothering to ask what any of those three weapons exactly were. But they sounded intimidating, that's for sure "Of course, they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes."

"Back to the value of attacking Inkopolis, she would probably want to cause wide-spread panic, weakening the forces and allowing her to launch a full-scale attack." Tek appeared in the puff of smoke and cyan ashes "She hasn't been updated on Octarian goals in quite a while."

"WAH!" Splin and Sharq immediatly lept off the couch, hiding behind it, Maria immediatly at her feet, aiming a Splat Charger at Tek, who sighed, reaching for a customized Charger of her own, which looked like an Octo-Shot.

"I can draw and shoot this in under a second, mother." Tek said coldly, hand resting on the tirgger.

"Mother?" Maria lowered the gun "You're Tek?"

"Yes." Tek nodded, removing her hand from the trigger of the Octo-Charger "You look different from what I expected."

"What do you mean by that?" Maria tilted her head slightly, Tek pointing to her platinum tentacles "Oh, you get that from your father."

"If I get this colour from my father, how come Ix has naturally blue hair?" Tek pointed to her sibling.

"I think...he got that f-from h-his...g-grandp-parents..." Maria looked down, a few tears falling down her face, Rem and Ix immediatly running to her and comforting her "Thank you, you two."

"What's wrong?" Sharq made his way to the three, only to be stopped by Ix.

 _"She had abusive parents. Even her twin sister abused her."_ He said through telepathy, intially surprising Sharq _"Sis and I have met them. Long story short, Callie and Marie had to take legal action to stop them from 'taking us back'."_

 _"Wait, so we can talk through our minds?"_ Sharq questioned, tapping his head _"Splin, can you hear me?"_ He got no response.

 _"It requires training, Sharq."_ Ix frowned, giving Sharq a brief dissapointed look, then went back to Maria.

There was a brief silence, the only sound would be Maria's gentle sobbing or the tweeting of birds. Tek eventually took a breath "Tenta is capable of repairing Metal Gear KRAKEN within hours of a defeat, no matter the damages."

The three Inklings in the center of the room parted, Ix looking over to Tek curiously "How long has she had KRAKEN?"

"Since she was 9. She became mentally unstable at the age of 11, reaching full-on insanity at merely 14." Tek explained, crossing her arms "The reason for her insanity is classified. Only Octavio can access the files."

"How does someone learn to control a Metal Gear at 9 years old?" Rem blinked.

"I don't know. Stop asking so many questions." Tek scowled.

"Don't talk to your older sister like that." Maria sighed, shaking her head.

"Fine..." Tek glanced over to Rem, who stuck her tongue out playfully, Tek immediatly turning away "I will subdue Tenta upon her defeat, then we will return home. Capishe?"

"At least let us-" Rem was cut off by Tek glaring at her.

"I will." She said coldly, dissapearing into the black smoke again.

Another silence fell on the room, Ix slumping back down on the couch "Splin, Sharq?"

"Yeah?" Splin asked, the brothers turning to Ix.

"The instant you hear screaming, you need to help evacuate where-ever KRAKEN is and where it will go. Got it?" Ix's face went serious, the brothers nodding quickly.

 _"Ix...You're really taking charge of this whole thing. Heh, I'm proud of you."_ Rem thought, smiling. She then quickly checked her watch "12:27..." She then realised how hungry she was _"I don't usually get hungry until 2...is it setting in already?"_

"So, you lot want some food, I presume?" Maria smiled her usual motherly smile, getting a nod from Rem "Guess you speak for all of you, Rem." She immediatly turned on her heel, heading for the kitchen.

*A few hours later*

"Ix?" Sharq looked up from his Splatendo 3DS to the older squid at the other end of the couch "When you said that Callie and Marie had to take legal action and all that...what did you mean?"

Ix chuckled "See, in our universe, Callie is our adoptive parent. She took us in after a huge battle...the one that took Mum's life..." He went silent for a few seconds "Me and Sis visited Brooklynk, Mum's home city. We wound up running into them. I don't know how, but they immediatly recognised as us 'the child's kids.' Then, they started following us after we left. Marie found them after a few days. They acted all sweet and innocent, but Callie and Marie know what happened to Mum during her childhood. Our grandparents then immediatly brought the whole thing to court, claiming that Callie had an 'unsuitable home' and 'didn't know how to properly care for people like them'."

"Was it close?"

"No, not at all. Our grandparents ended up with a restraining order and such. Callie and Marie are some of the kindest, sweetest people I've ever met. I owe my life to them." Ix drifted off into his own little world, smiling dreamily.

"Marie's also his girlfriend." Rem suddenly appeared behind the couch, grinning mischeviously, her sudden presence causing Ix to freak out for a second.

"Sis! Don't...don't do that!" He lightly hit her arm, only getting laughter.

"Well, it's good it all worked out for you." Sharq nodded, going back to his Splatendo.

Now it was Rem's turn to be shocked, Maria popping up beside her from squid form "So Callie adopted you two?"

"Uh, yeah." Ix nodded.

"Such a nice girl." Maria beamed "And you and Marie are in a relationship?"

"Yes..." Ix looked away, a gentle blush on his face.

"No need to be embarassed, you had a crush on her when you were just a Squishie, you know?" Maria giggled.

"Don't use Squishie around me, you know it annoys me." Rem groaned, rolling her eyes.

Splin then immediatly burst into the room, panting "SHE'S HERE!"

"What!?" Ix sprung to his feet, Splin running to the TV and turning it on, Callie and Marie's news show coming on.

"Breaking news! The robot that was causing trouble near Saltspray Rig is heading right for Inkopolis! And it's armed! Everyone RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Callie screamed, beginning to run herself, only to have Marie grab her by her collar and yank her back onto the stage.

"It's got a while to get here, though, so just grab what you can and get to a safe location. We'll keep you updated on this as it unfolds." Marie said calmly.

"Damnit, Tek!" Rem snarled, stomping her foot.

Tek then appeared in her usual puff of smoke "A miscalculation on my part. Just do what you were going to do. Go!" She immediatly dissapeared, leaving the group to stand still.

"What are you waiting for!? Run!" Maria grabbed her Splat Charger, dashing out the door, her children following her.

"L-Let me get some weapons, first!" Sharq run upstairs, grabbing a Sploosh-O-Matic and a Mini Splatling, along with two Ink Tanks "Come on, Splin!" He threw the Sploosh-O-Matic to Splin, both of the darting out the door.

 **Not long 'til Splatfest, guys! I'll make you pizza lovers proud! Also, SPLAT X 3 IS BACK ON! But it's going to be a long time until I write it. I need to finish those other two stories, first. Those and the DBZ fic I promised. Additionally, it's not going to be rated T, it's going to be an M. Hope you're ready for some messy fights.**


	45. KRAKEN

Inkopolis was already going up in flames, buildings crumbling and covering the roads in dust, Inklings and Jellyfish screaming as they ran through the streets, Tenta's disconnected laughter echoing off the walls and into their ears "UHAHAHA! THE KRAKEN SHALL BIRTH A NEW BEGINNING FOR OCTARIANS!" She slammed her finger on a button, KRAKEN bringing up a large tentacle from the water, which opened to reveal several hundred missiles, which immediatly fired. However, two shadowed Inklings immediatly appeared, riding two like skateboards, turning them back to the other, repeating this process until all of the missiles were destroyed, the figures revealing themselves to be Rem and Ix in their battle armour. Though there were a few differences. Rem's armour was now skintight, the boots reaching further up her legs and the chest piece had sleeves that reached her wrists. Ix's jumpsuit had the sleeves removed, the armour now having shoulder pauldrons that jutted out.

"Yo, Tenta! Thanks for that warm up the other day! Been a while since I fought, ya know?" Rem taunted, stretching as she did.

"Didn't expect to see you two here of all places." Tenta frowned "Doesn't matter! I'll crush you all the same!"

"So that's this Metal Gear they were talking about?" Splin muttered to himself, staring at KRAKEN "It's not too different from what I expected..."

"Splin!" Sharq lightly hit his brother with the back of his hand "Stop daydreaming! We need to get people to safety, remember?"

"Oh yeah! This way, folks! It's all under control!" Splin ushered the panicking Jellyfish and Inklings away from the destroyed buildings.

Maria was sat ontop of a building, aiming down the scope of her Splat Charger, then groaned and dropped it to her side "I can't hit it from here..." Just then, an actual Sniper Rifle fell onto her lap, a box of ammo to her side.

"Here." Tek was stood beside her, holding a Sniper Rifle of her own "Tell me if you need ammo." With that, she dissapeared in her usual puff of smoke, appearing a few buildings down. Maria shrugged, quickly getting to a good position, aiming down the scope of the rifle, seeing her other two children darting around KRAKEN, which was flinging it's tentacles about to catch them.

"Stay still! Not even a minute into the fight and you're like flies!" Tenta growled, swiping at her siblings, though kept missing.

"HYAH!" Rem slammed into KRAKEN, Ix dissapearing when it cast a shadow over him.

"Imputent worm!" Tenta yelled, machine guns appearing out of KRAKEN's sides, opening fire on the girl in front of the Metal Gear, the bullets somehow fizzling out of existence before they even got close "What!?"

"Heated air, Tenta!" Rem smirked, the air around her shaking slightly "Bullets don't work on me!"

"Then I'll MAKE them-URGH!" Tenta growled as the shadow behind her seemignly began to attack KRAKEN, Ix bursting forth when she turned the mech around "What the!?"

"Haha! Ix here can swim through shadows like they were Ink, not only that, he can control them, too!" Rem laughed, leaning back in the air with her arm crossed as she watched KRAKEN helplessly swipe at Ix, Tenta making various yells the whole time.

"That's it! Plasma Cannon..." KRAKEN's mouth quickly opened, revealing its sharp teeth, orange energy gathering at the back.

"NOW!" Tek yelled, both her and Maria firing a shot into KRAKEN's mouth, a large explosion shaking the mech, but it kept charging "Hmm...we at least did something." Tek muttered.

"FIRE!" Tenta yelled, the incredible orb of orange energy blasting towards Ix as a large beam, Ix remaining perfectly still. A split second before the beam hit him, he vanished, the beam now tearing through several hundred buildings and going right over Splin and Sharq.

"WHOA!" Splin leapt back at the sight of the beam, both his and Sharq's faces covered in shock and awe at the incredible energy above them, though it soon faded.

"I knew I shoulda caught that." Ix growled, turning back to KRAKEN, only to see one of the smaller tentacles darting towards him, wrapping itself around him, beginning to flail him about.

"Ix! Hold on!" Rem immediatly snapped to attention, blasting towards the tentacle, smashing straight through it, immediatly flipping back and catching Ix a few centimetres from the water, tearing the tentacle off "You alright?"

"Just fine." Ix nodded, cracking his knuckles "Now let's nail this thing!"

 **Had to take a brief break from Splatfest to write this. Gamepad battery was getting low...Sorry this one's so short, didn't have much clue of what to write. And sorry to say, but X 2 is ending soon. Probably in the next 3 or 4 chapters. Don't worry, I'll make them the best I possibly can, along with a small preview of a few things I have planned for X 3 at the end of the final chapter. Anyway, Dread signing off to wait until his Gamepad is done charging.**

 **I am maker of warm pizza.**


	46. Collective Conciousness

KRAKEN reared up, letting out a deafening metallic screech, the water beneath it vibrating slightly. Rem smirked, flicking her hands, fire circling around them, KRAKEN quickly launching a barrage of missiles at the siblings, both immediatly flying in opposite directions, all of the missiles following Rem.

"Damnit! Heat-Seeking!" She snarled, beginning to fly in circles around KRAKEN, which only launched yet more missiles at her "Ix! Little support!?"

"You know how to get rid of Heat-Seekers!" Ix yelled back.

"Oh, right." Rem muttered, performing a large back flip, heading straight for KRAKEN.

"Huh!?" Tenta snapped to attention at the sudden blaring alarms, looking down to one of the camera feeds, seeing Rem flying straight for her "Fool!" She slammed her fist down on a button, KRAKEN's eyes glowing red. Before it could launch whatever it was charging, Rem dissapeared, the missiles flying into KRAKEN, an incredible screech echoing from it.

"Bullseye!" Rem cackled, fist pumping. Before she could prepare for another attack, KRAKEN suddenly lunged at her, whacking her with one of its tentacles, sending her crashing through a few buildings, impacting near Splin and Sharq, who immediatly ran to her aid, pulling her out of the pieces of building, helping remove the dust from her.

"You ok?" Splin asked, helping Rem steady herself.

"Other than the fact that was one of the hardest hits I've ever taken, I'd say I'm ok." Rem shook her head, a hand on her forehead "Why are you two still here, by the way? I thought you would have gone with everyone else."

"W-Well, there could always be more people here, you know?" Splin shrugged, grinning nervously. Rem stared at him hard for a few seconds, then looked away to the fight going on between Ix and KRAKEN.

"If you say so." She eventually shrugged, flying back to the fight.

"Shadow Flare!" Ix yelled, blasting KRAKEN with an incredible orb of black energy, knocking off some of the armour and revealing the insides. A bullet whizzed past his face and into KRAKEN, causing yet another explosion from within "Watch where you're firing that thing!"

"Sorry!" Maria called out, a nervous smile on her face.

Ix growled, rolling his eyes.

"You alright, Ix?" Rem stopped next to her brother, looking between him and KRAKEN.

"Oh, I'm just fine, Sis. Totally didn't almost just get shot by my own Mum!" Ix scowled.

"I said sorry!" Maria yelled, tutting.

"Can you lot stop arguing!? Look!" Tek pointed to KRAKEN, which had finally reached land and was now crawling onto the beach. Eventually, it was completely beached until one of the larger tentacles flipped over, splitting apart in two, the other doing the same, KRAKEN standing on the beach in its terrifying form. Rem and Ix dropped down in front of it, two of KRAKEN's teeth suddenly shot out, revealing themselves as building sized heatblades, gleaming in the sunlight.

"So it can change forms, huh?" Ix smirked, cracking his knuckles. With no warning, KRAKEN brought one of the blades down on the siblings, both barely managing to dodge it before it hit the ground, sending debris and dust into the air.

"I'm seriously reconsidering our choice to stand here and watch, bro!" Splin yelled, his voice shaking with the ground.

"Our choice?! Splin, you're the one who wanted to stay!" Sharq protested, throwing his arms up, groaning.

"True, true, but come on! This looks awesome!" Splin grinned, pointing to the firework-esque explosions coming from the nearby buildings. Sharq let out another irritated groan, shaking his head.

"Fine, you win. But if that gets too close, we run, got it?"

"Got it!" Splin nodded, watching the fight with his face covered in excitement. Sharq on the other hand, was already getting ready to run.

"Whoa!" Ix yelped, rolling out of the way of a barrage of bullets, landing behind some rubble, using it as cover. He quickly popped out, blasting KRAKEN with an assault of purple energy, the Metal Gear screeching slightly, then turning to face Ix, its eyes rolling to the front, charging the red particles. It was stopped once more by more shots from Maria and Tek, Maria fist pumping.

"Behind you!" Rem taunted, picking up a large chunk of rock, throwing it with all her might at KRAKEN. It collided with the mech, creating a large dent in it and causing it to stumble slightly, allowing Ix to blast towards it feet first, KRAKEN reeling back on his impact, another screech piercing the ears of Splin and Sharq.

"Could you two get that thing to screech a little bit quieter!?" Sharq yelled.

As if on cue, Rem headbutted KRAKEN, a female voice saying "Voice systems offline."

"Thank you..." Sharq shook his head, his hearing quickly returning to full.

"This thing can certainly take a lot, can't it?" Ix jumped over to Rem, keeping an eye on KRAKEN.

"Yeah, it can." Rem nodded "Wonder why it hasn't used those swords yet." She pointed to the heat blades in the sky above them, KRAKEN immediatly drawing one back and slamming it into the ground, barely missing Rem. She quickly grabbed what she could of it, straining as she began to lift it, Tenta yelling in fear as soon as KRAKEN's feet left the ground, flailing about in the air. KRAKEN landed on it's back near Splin and Sharq, Sharq tackling his brother to the ground immediatly, the debris barely missing them.

"Are you ok?" Sharq helped his brother back up, both shaking slightly.

"Y-Yeah..." Splin looked over to KRAKEN _"Come on, you two..."_

"Grrrrgh..." Rem grunted, beginning to pull up on the heat blade again, this time snapping it clean off, the sun relfecting off it as it flipped high in the air, Ix catching it as it fell.

"Oh...yeah..." He smirked, glaring at KRAKEN with eyes full of determination as it stood back up.

"I'll end you!" Tenta screamed, holding the other heat blade high in the air.

"HYAH!" Ix threw the heat blade he was holding over his shoulder, they immediatly bounced off each other with an explosion, though they immediatly went for it again, creating a bigger explosion. The blades sped for each other a third time, this time making contact, both sides pushing against each other. Ix screamed as he pushed KRAKEN's blade back, knocking the whole Metal Gear over, following up by delivering a few slices to KRAKEN, finishing by slamming the blade straight onto the mech, flipping through the air and landing on the top of the mech. A hatch then opened, a circular pod rising out, Tenta scowling as she stepped out, revealing her appearance to be just like Tek, albeit with black tentacles and red eyes.

"Slippery...imputent...WORM!" She yelled, charging at Ix, the male catching her as before she could ram him. Tek then appeared in her usual puff of smoke, forcing Tenta to the ground, stepping on her back as she handcuffed her, putting her over her shoulders.

"Is it over?!" Sharq yelled up, Ix walking to the edge and smiling down at them.

"It's over!"

 **I'm sorry, my fellow Pineapple lovers. I...have failed. No matter how valiantly we fought, we were defeated. Well, we all did what we could, eh? Even if we were defeated by some tasteless freaks.**

 **DISCLAIMER: Dread Angel Industries does not support the notion that people who do not like Pineapples on their Pizza are freaks. They are entitled to their own opinion but they still have no taste.**


	47. It's Finally Over

"So does this mean...?" Rem landed near Ix and Tek, head tilted "Does this mean it's ALL over?"

"Yeah. No more fighting." Ix smiled, Rem immediatly embracing him _"I hope..."_

"Guess this means you two have to go home, huh?" Maria asked, appearing near the group. She was smiling, but there was sadness in her eyes. Her children nodded, herself walking over and joining in on the hug.

"I would join, but I have my insane sister over my shoulders. But..." Tek looked down to the now sleeping Tenta "I think we managed to knock some sense into her. Oh, by the way" She turned to the pod where Tenta had previously emerged from "I think the little trinket you need is in there."

"Alright, I'll go get it." Ix walked into the pod, searching around and soon coming out with the Tele-Orb, though it was rather dirty and scratched "Got it." He nodded, tossing it up in the air and catching it. He sighed, looking at the orb, then his mother "Hold this." He handed it to Rem, jumping off KRAKEN and landing next to Splin and Sharq "You two."

"Yeah?" Sharq asked, both stepping forward. Without a word, Ix took of the white band that held his tentacles up, holding it out to the brothers.

"Something to remember us by." He smiled "Take it."

Splin slowly reached out for the band, eventually taking it in his own hand, staring at it for a few seconds "We'll keep it safe, I promise." He nodded.

"Ix!" Maria yelled, landing next to her son "Could you come with me? I want to...give you something before you go." She motioned for him to follow her, walking behind a discarded piece of KRAKEN, Ix arriving shortly after.

"What did you want to talk about?" He asked, hands in his pockets. Silently, Maria procured a small box, holding it out in her palm.

"You know what I mean." She smiled warmly, Ix staring at the box in shock, then picking it up, continuing to stare at it "Don't worry about asking your father, he's always looked forward to that."

Ix just couldn't find the words, putting both arms around his mother, burying his face in her shoulder like he always does when hugging her, eventually releasing her "Thanks..." He finally managed to get out.

"Go get her, tiger." Maria patted his shoulder, taking him back to the others, who were now off KRAKEN and on the ground.

"Alright, Ix. Home time." Rem smiled, Tele-Orb prepped.

"I know, I know." Ix nodded, running up next to his sisters "Gonna miss you, you know?"

"I know." Maria nodded, tears falling down her face already.

"Ah, you're crying already? We haven't even left yet!" Rem commented, getting a small chuckle from the group "Hasta la vista." With that, she pressed a button on the Tele-Orb, all four of them disspearing into thin air, along with KRAKEN.

"Wait, they took that thing with them!?" Sharq jumped back, a few of the rubble lying on KRAKEN falling to the ground. Nobody answered, the only sound being the chirping of birds and the waves on the beach. Maria stood still, simply keeping her gaze on where her four children once stood, a few tears still rolling down her face.

*Universe 7*

Rem and Ix found themselves back in front of their home, quickly shaking off the diziness, only to be immediatly pulled into a bear hug by Callie, Marie stepping out soon after "You're finally back!" Callie squealed.

"Yeah, we're back." Rem smiled awkwardly, putting a hand on Callie's back "Missed ya...Mom..." Rem looked skyward, Maria also doing the same in her universe, her tears gone. Callie soon released the siblings, only for Marie to pull Ix into another hug, planting kisses all over his face.

Rem smiled, dropping the Tele-Orb and turning to the horizon, the sun reflecting off her exposed metal hand.

* * *

Anyone can give up their fight by laying down arms. But the feeling of having power - that, that will never be forgotten. Like our lost limbs, our lost faces...and our lost friends and family...the scars linger.

We hold our attacks in missing hands. We stand tall on missing legs. We stride forward in the ink of our fallen. Then, and only then, are we truly alive. This "pain" is ours, and no one else's. A secret weapon we all wield, but none use. We will be stronger than ever. For our peace.

'Ancient evils will release destruction unto the future.' Those were the last words of an ancestor. I was always told he was a deep thinker.

Still...

Doesn't feel like this is over. Though I may never be what I used to be again...

But - this is home. Our home. Even with the flames inside us, the ones that may cause us to lose control, we'll protect it. With our lives.

My name is Rem Altezio, and I send this message to anyone who wants to find us. We are here. We are waiting.

* * *

 **SPLAT X 2  
**

 **END**

* * *

 **Thanks to: Tehreign/Boss  
**

 **Boy Jav**

 **LuckyMilktank**

 **TheOneTheOnlyGajeelRedfox**

 **BrickTheRedInkling**

 **PizzaLovingTurtle**

 **Super Mastour**

 **dlahm17**

 **deepcauldron**

 **Original Otaku**

 **KitKattAttack**

 **DiamondPencilsZ**

 **Soveirgn and Unbreakable**

 **Aura Spirit**

 **pokejowita**

 **And you.**

* * *

Marie and Ix stood under the moonlight, hands held, staring up at the glowing orb suspended in space above them. Soon, they began dancing, keeping their eyes locked the whole time, both gliding around in a circle. Soon, Marie found herself leaning back with her hands behind Ix's neck, one hand of his on her back, both staring deep into the other's eyes.

"You know, Marie...there's something I want to ask you." Ix smiled, keeping not looking away as he slowly reached for his pocket with his free hand.

"What is it?" Marie asked, curiosity in her eyes.

"Well, I know we haven't been together long, but..." Ix held up the box, flipping it open to reveal the ring inside "Marie, will you marry me?"

Marie gasped when she saw the diamond ring, immediatly crying tears of joy "Yes...!" She breathed, both standing up straight and sharing one of the deepest kisses they've ever had, the moonlight reflecting off Marie's dress.

* * *

 **Well, here we are. About half a year later and it's finally done. Can't believe it either. Once again, thanks to everyone in the SU, everyone who reviewed and a special thanks to TheOneTheOnlyGajeelRedfox, who was the reason I joined FF in the first place. Well, that's that. Done. Fin. The end. Well, for this at least. Here's what to expect from the next installment.  
**

* * *

"This is new." Jack scowled, walking down a street towards someone who had their back turned, a pile of Inkling clothes and body parts scattered around the road.

"Who is he!?" A voice in his ear yelped, Jack putting a hand to his ear.

"Looks like a cyborg." He commented, stopping his walk as the cyborg turned to him, revealing their face.

"Take him out, Raider!"

Jack grinned, drawing his sword "With pleasure."

"You think you're so great, don't you!?" Rem's voice echoed in a black abyss.

"Rem, you wouldn't hurt the father of three adorable Squishies, would you?" Ty's voice replied, filled with sadness.

"Oh trust me..." The black void faded, showing a clearly enraged Rem "I'll make sure that they feel twice the pain I did 17 years ago." She charged at Ty, who barely managed to block her punches, Rem snarling in irritation, kicking Ty with all her might. The two were then fighting on a train, their clothes torn. Rem leapt at Ty, who punched her to the side, the girl only sliding along the wall of the tunnel, bouncing off with flames surrounding her, screaming as she lunged or Ty.

 **Splat X 3: Diligent Vengeance**

 **2016**

"Your hopes die with you." Rem and Ty were in front of the rubble of a bridge, Rem's mechanical hand firmly in Ty's chest. She put a hand on his shoulder, ripping a pulsing piece of flesh out of his chest.


End file.
